Elderly mortality at the Russian Far East: seasonality and mitigation

Abstract

In many countries of the world, demographic changes have occurred, characterized by an increase in the share of socially inactive elderly people. The goal is a medical and demographic analysis of the elderly in the Far East. For Khabarovsk and Birobidzhan, seasonal patterns of mortality and self-preserving behavior of older people were investigated. In order to determine the actions and personal attitudes of self-preserving behavior for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases, elderly people who visited the Vertical fitness center in Birobidzhan were interviewed. It was found that the overall mortality rate among older people is higher among men than among women. The main causes of death are cardiovascular diseases, which have a pronounced seasonality with a maximum in winter. It is shown that 23% of men and 48% of women do not demonstrate high social and physical activity and do not have any skills to maintain their health.