Epidemiology of Chronic Respiratory Disease in Different Climatic and Geographic Regions of Russia

Abstract

SummaryThe aim was to study epidemiology of chronic respiratory disease in populations living at different climatic and geographic regions of Russia in order to develop targeted preventive programs.Methods. This was a cross-sectional randomised epidemiological study. A comparative analysis of mortality from respiratory diseases was conducted according to the European standards in population aged 25-64 years living in Russia and certain regions of Russian Arctic. Data from a national multi-centre population-based study and of randomly selected subjects from certain climatic and geographic regions were analysed. Results. A respiratory mortality rate was much higher in most Russian Arctic regions compared to average national values. Although a death rate of chronic respiratory disease in most Arctic regions and in Russia at whole was higher than that in the EU the population in the northern regions died more often from pneumonia. Despite a significant difference in smoking prevalence there was significantly higher COPD prevalence in Arctic regions (Yakutsk) compared to other regions in the study. Among all risk factors, the Northern climate greatly contributed to morbidity of chronic respiratory disease. Conclusion: The regional difference in the prevalence and mortality from chronic respiratory disease should be considered when designing preventive programs for chronic non-infection diseases in these regions.

Impact of socio-economic traditions on current tobacco and tea addictions (Siberia 17th to 20th century)

“…In the 19th century, while the Yakut population assimilated into the Russian orthodox way of life, several contemporary trends were detected: all subjects seemed to become, at least, light consumers of tea, and moderate tea users were also tobacco users. The average tobacco-related xenobiotic hair concentration was higher in women than in men before 1800 AD (Figure 4) and this peculiarity is still found today in the Sakha republic and the current population of the Republic currently exhibits generalized tea drinking habits and a higher smoking incidence than any other part of the Russian Federation [26,27]. As far as the further away from Verkhoyansk (in the north), the lower the nicotine concentration in hair.…”

At the Origins of Tobacco-Smoking and Tea Consumption in a Virgin Population (Yakutia, 1650–1900 A.D.): Comparison of Pharmacological, Histological, Economic and Cultural Data

“…In the 19th century, its generalization occurred under pressure from economic channels and tea ceremonies diffused by the elites, even though the habit of herbal tea drinking certainly persisted. The current population of the Sakha Republic exhibits generalized tea drinking habits; a higher smoking incidence than any other part of the Russian Federation [ 6 ]; and an actual prevalence of smokers in the north [ 7 ]. Some epidemiological characteristics of present-day Yakutia could find their origins, in part anyways, in the 18th and 19th-century diffusion phenomena supported by the findings reported in this study.…”

“…Yakutia (northeastern Siberia) offers a unique opportunity for such research due to the preservation of xenobiotics related to tobacco and tea consumption in the frozen bodies of autochthonous people [ 5 ]. Furthermore, the current population of the Sakha Republic exhibits generalized tea-drinking habits and a higher incidence of smoking than any other part of the Russian Federation [ 6 , 7 ], which allows for historical comparisons. To this end ( Figure 1 ), we investigated the levels of the main compounds related to tea and tobacco consumption in hair sampled from 47 frozen bodies, dating from the earliest contact with Europeans (1620 AD) to the assimilation of native people into Russian society (end of the 19th century).…”