Fatal alcohol poisonings and gender gap in life expectancy in Belarus
Life expectancy (LE) at birth is considered to be an important characteristic for quality of life. The difference in LE between males and females in Belarus is unprecedently high compared with developed countries. Objective: This study aims to test the alcohol-related hypothesis of the gender gap in LE in Belarus. Method: An analysis of distributed lags was used to examine the relation between the trends in fatal alcohol poisonings and gender gap in LE. Re -suits: According to the results of Spearman’s correlation analysis, fatal alcohol poisonings rate is a statistically significant factor associated with gender gap in LE in Belarus (r=0,98; p<0,000). The results of the distributed lags analysis also suggest a positive relation between these variables at lag zero (r=0.85; SE=0.14). Conclusions: The outcomes of this study provide indirect support for the hypothesis that alcohol is a major contributor to the high gender gap in LE and its dramatic fluctuations in Belarus during the last few decades.