Differences between the Mortality Rates of Moscow and St. Petersburg

Abstract

The identification of factors that determine the structure and rate of mortality is a topical complex task requiring unification of efforts of medical science and social disciplines. The authors contribute to its solution through a comparative study of mortality indicators in two Russian megalopolises—Moscow and St. Petersburg. Analyzing statistical data, they form several hypotheses that help explain the significant differences in the mortality rates of the two cities. The focus is not only on the socioeconomic and climatic features of Moscow and St. Petersburg but also on the state of the financial and resource support of the health care systems of these cities. The results obtained are only the first step, but a necessary one, toward an adequate system of measures to decrease mortality, implying subsequent studies on the significance of each of the factors considered.