Population Loss Due to Mental Disorders Caused by Deviant Behavior in the 2000s in Russia

Abstract

AbstractIn the 2000s, Russia mortality from mental disorders has significantly increased in Russia. This class of diseases includes death cause of completely different genesis. To better understand values of this fact we evaluate population loss in Russia due to both mental disorders and problems related to deviant behavior in general (2000–2018) versus countries of the EU before May 2004 (2000–2015). We found that the abnormal increase in mortality from mental disorders is due to registration of stroke consequences as vascular dementia. Alcohol-related mortality in Russia in the 2000s significantly decreased against the background of a fundamental change in its structure: in the early 2000s it was mainly determined by alcohol poisoning and at present it is determined by psychosomatic diseases associated with alcohol use. Extremely low mortality from drug poisoning doubts compliance official death levels to actual ones. Mortality from suicide in Russia was decreasing at an ultra-high rate, and now its female indicators are close to the Western European ones. Mortality from suicide in working ages can be also disguised by such causes of death as symptoms, signs, and ill-defined conditions, accidental falls from a high place, and drug poisoning (especially with sedative-hypnotic and psychotropic drugs). Thus, loss due to causes related to mental health problems in addition to deaths from mental disorders should include total alcohol and drug-related deaths as well as deaths due to suicide.KeywordsRussia mortalityMortality from mental disordersAlcohol-related mortalitySuicideMortality in working ages