COVID-19 pandemic and mortality by main causes of death in regions of the Russian Federation in 2020

Abstract

As a result of the COVID 19 pandemic, the life expectancy (LE) at birth of the Russian population in 2020 compared to 2019 decreased almost equally for men and women and returned to the level of five years ago. Russia is characterized by a significant regional differentiation of LE and the rate of its decline in 2020 There is a pattern: the higher the life expectancy in the regions in 2019, the more significant its decrease in 2020. The main contribution (more than 50%) to the reduction of LE of men and women in 2020 was the increase in mortality at the age of 65 years and older and almost a third less at the age of 45-64 years. Not all regions mortality from COVID-19 in was the main cause for the decrease in LE for men and women in 2020. In 28 regions for men and 23 for women, diseases of mortality of the circulatory system made a significant contribution to the overall decrease in LE, and this contribution was greater than the contribution of COVID-19. The increase of mortality from respiratory diseases in most regions has reduced LE. In a some regions, changes LE. However, caution is necessary when interpreting the results, since the process of identifying the main cause of death is not always uniform and may vary not only by country, but also in regions within the country.