The Lancet – Alcohol and mortality in Russia: prospective observational study of 151 000 adults

A paper published in The Lancet and led by scientists from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), along with colleagues from the Russian Cancer Research Centre in Moscow and Oxford University in the United Kingdom, provides strong evidence that the high and sharply fluctuating death rates in Russia are due mainly to alcohol, and particularly vodka.

The study asked 151 000 people how much vodka they drank, and then followed them for up to a decade, during which 8000 died. The researchers estimate that the 20-year risks of death at ages 35–54 years were 35% for men who had reported drinking three or more half-litre bottles of vodka a week, compared with 16% for men who had reported consuming less than half a litre a week. The corresponding risks of death at ages 55–74 years were 64% and 50%, respectively.

Dr Christopher Wild, Director of IARC, commented that these results reinforce the importance of alcohol as a cause of premature mortality in Russia. They also highlight the potential to reduce premature mortality by 25% by 2025 using measures that curb harmful alcohol consumption. Study leader Professor David Zaridze from the Russian Cancer Research Centre in Moscow added, “The significant decline in Russian mortality rates following the introduction of moderate alcohol controls in 2006 demonstrates the reversibility of the health crisis from hazardous drinking. People who drink spirits in hazardous ways greatly reduce their risk of premature death as soon as they stop.”

D Zaridze, S Lewington, A Boroda, G Scélo et al.
Alcohol and mortality in Russia: prospective observational study of 151 000 adults.
The Lancet, Early Online Publication, 31 January 2014, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(13)62247-3
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