A new study, published in the Lancet, examined the relationship between alcohol and mortality in Russia.  The researchers noted that Russian adults have an extraordinarily high rate of premature death and retrospective investigation found excessive vodka use among a large portion of those that died prematurely from a variety of causes, including eight diseases, accidents, suicide, and violence.

Building on retrospective observation, the research team followed over 150,000 adults from 1999 to 2010.  While they saw some fluctuation in the self-reported level of alcohol consumption, the research team found that vodka use reported at the start of the study was a strong predictor of health risk.  During the course of the study, 8,000 participants died, reports BBC News.  Overall, 25 percent of Russian men die before 55, while a comparable rate in the U.K. is 7 percent.

However, death rates have not remained stable over time.  According to one of the study authors, Russian death rates have seen great fluctuations over the last 30 years because alcohol restrictions and social stability have also seen variation under Presidents Gorbachev, Yeltsin, and Putin.  Overall, though, the main cause driving these wild fluctuations in death rates was vodka.

First, in response to a restriction on alcohol use in mid-1985, there was a significant drop in the use of alcohol and the subsequent death rates.  However, after the USSR collapse in 1991 and the collapse of the Rouble in 1998, there were significant spikes in use and death rates.  Finally, in 2006, alcohol regulations were passed and have led to a significant and steady drop in use and death rates.

Researchers reported alcohol consumption has fallen by a third since the 2006 regulations were passed and the proportion of men dying before they reach 55 years old has fallen from 37% to 25%.  In 2011, each Russian adult drank on average 13 liters of pure alcohol every year, of which eight liters was in spirits, mainly vodka.  In comparison, BBC News states that the rate was ten liters in the U.K., but only two of those liters were spirits.

According to a previous National Monitor article, excess alcohol consumption is a societal and health problem throughout the world. Around 4% of deaths worldwide are related to alcohol, with 2.5 million deaths a year attributable to its use. Death is most commonly caused by injury, liver cirrhosis, poisoning, and malignancy.