Diseases of the population of Russia. Epidemiological review (2018)

Perhaps nothing so objectively reflects the reality as figures. Of course, if the numbers are real. They can scare, please, make you think about the past, present and future, or leave indifferent, if they do not specifically concern us. So, “figures” showing the state of affairs of any economic organization, are unlikely to interest the housewife, and the number of representatives of the sign of the zodiac Lion in Russia with a low probability will interest a big businessman. However, the “figures” concerning the health of the population, hardly will leave anyone indifferent simply because each person living with us in the same territory is a component of this general “figure”. How likely can we meet a person with tuberculosis? What are the statistics of malignant neoplasms in Russia? These and other questions will be answered by this brief epidemiological overview.

The main government institutions involved in the collection and statistical processing of information on morbidity in Russia are the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation and the Federal Service of the State Statistics (Rosstat). Unfortunately, Rosstat has statistical materials until 2017, and the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation not so long ago published a summary of socially significant diseases of the population of Russia for 2018, so the review has retrospective nature.

According to Rosstat, a diagram of some groups of diseases of the population of the Russian Federation was compiled:

Picture 1 Chart of the population morbidity of the Russian Federation

Based on the collected data, it can be concluded that for 17 years the leading positions have been taken by respiratory diseases (by 2017, the figure reached 45% of the total number of registered diseases); injuries, excretions and other consequences of external causes; and diseases of the genitourinary system. Diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissue, some infectious and parasitic diseases and diseases of the musculoskeletal system are also common.

The data of patients diagnosed for a particular group, established for the first time in life, were recorded during the collection of information.

Thus, if we consider the incidence per 1000 people (for example, in 2017), diseases of the respiratory group will meet in 353.5 people, diseases of the genitourinary system — in 44.8. More information on all groups of diseases can be found on the website of Rosstat (https://www.gks.ru/folder/13721).

The Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation also collects information on socially significant diseases, which include:

• Tuberculosis;
• Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease;
• Malignant neoplasms;
• Mental illness;
• Infections that are predominantly sexually transmitted;

According to the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation in relation to tuberculosis there is a negative dynamic of growth of morbidity (Fig. 2):

Figure 2 Chart of the dependence of the number of patients with the first-time diagnosis of active tuberculosis on time

However, the HIV prevalence statistics are disappointing: since 2004, the incidence rose rapidly and peaked in 2015, followed by a slight decline.

Figure 3 Chart of the dependence of the number of patients with the first time in life diagnosed with HIV infection in the Russian Federation on time

Unfortunately, the dynamics of malignant formations is steadily positive. This is evidenced by the presented schedule (Fig.4):

Figure 4 Dependence of the number of newly detected malignant neoplasms on time

It is worth noting that in the Russian Federation the number of patients with malignant formations of the breast and cervix is growing, while in the man the most common neoplasms are tumors of the respiratory and digestive systems.

Mental diseases had a weak negative dynamic after the peak of 2005, but by 2018 the number of people asked for help slightly increased.

Figure 5 Dependence of the number of patients with a first-time diagnosis of mental disorder on time

In the case of sexually transmitted diseases, there is a negative trend:

Figure 6 Dependence of the number of patients with sexually transmitted diseases in the Russian Federation on time. (blue - syphilis, red - gonococcal infection)

Thus, medical advances have been made in certain areas, such as treatment of tuberculosis and some sexually transmitted diseases. On the other hand, the spread of HIV infection and tumors is alarming.

Statistical materials of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation can be found on the official website