|
On any warm day in Russia, in any region, of the country drunk man takes a swim and adds to the statistic of death by drowning. Another man, stumbling home from a late night party, falls in the street, passes out and freezes to death. Two men break into a railroad yard and die after drinking several quarts of industrial solvent from a tanker car. There are so many accidental and strange ways for Russian men to die that it is not a surprise that the average Russian man is not expected to see his 57th year.
"Normally only during wartime do we see the kind of decrease in men's life span that we've seen over the last years in Russia, " said Vladimir I. Simenenkov, head of the department of internal diseases at the Moscow Medical Academy and a senior officer with the city's Public Health Committee. Governmental statistics indicate that the average Russian man lives 56.8 years, compared with 77 years for Russia women. Ten years ago, life expectancy for men was 62.8 years. Unlike Russia women, Russia men drink too much, smoke too much, live with too much stress and live too dangerously. Another reason Russia women live longer is because they get more frequent cheakups. Also, Russia women clinics tend to be more efficient and welcoming.
According to the Ministry of Statistics Russia's population of 142 million could drop by one-third in the next 25 years. Russia women would have to have almost twice as many children (2.6) as they're having now (1.4) just to keep the population from decreasing. The health of Russia women has remained stable. While 45 percent of all Russian men now die between the ages 16 and 59, the average life expectancy for Russia women has remained firm at 77.
|
|
|
