Alcohol as a factor of gender gap in cardiovascular mortality in Russia
Background. A great deal of evidence indicates that higher level of alcohol consumption has been implicated both in the high cardiovascular disease mortality and its dramatic fluctuations during the recent decades in Russia. This evidence suggests that alcohol may play an important role in explaining the pronounced gender gap in cardiovascular mortality in Russia. Objective: to test the hypothesis of the close aggregate level link between alcohol consumption and gender difference in cardiovascular mortality rates in Russia using data on sex-specific cardiovascular mortality rates and alcohol consumption per capita between 1956 and 2010. Methods. Time-series analytical modeling techniques were used to examine the relation between the gender difference in cardiovascular mortality and trends in alcohol consumption per capita. Results. The results of the analysis suggest that 55.3% of the difference in cardiovascular mortality rates between males and females in Russia could be attributed to alcohol. Conclusion. The outcomes of this study provide indirect support for the hypothesis that alcohol is a major contributor to the high gender gap in cardiovascular mortality and its dramatic fluctuations in Russia during the last decades.