Main health indicators for Russia's pre-pension-aged population, included in the Global Action Plan for the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases

Abstract

Society's great attention is locked on the health of people in the age range 50-64 years, the so-called pre-pension age, in the light of a possible increase in the retirement age in our country. Objective-to study the prevalence of smoking, alcohol consumption, salt intake, elevated blood pressure (BP), obesity, and diabetes mellitus (DM) among 50-64-year-old population of the Russian Federation. Subject and methods. The surveyed cohorts included men and women at the age of 50-64 years from 13 regions of the Russian Federation. All the participants of the Epidemiology of Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Diseases in Regions of the Russian Federation Study (ESSE-RF) were interviewed using the standard questionnaire that had been designed on the basis of adapted international procedures and consisted of 12 modules. Universal epidemiological methods and evaluation criteria were used. The data were analyzed using the Statistical Analysis System, version 6. Results. A total of 8334 people aged 50-64 years, among whom there were 2784 (33%) men and 5550 (67%) women, were surveyed. Smokers 50-64 years of age were 34.5% among men and 8% among women, and the rate of this risk factor (RF) tended to decrease with increasing age. The Russian Federation's residents aged 50-64 years consumed mainly moderate amounts of alcohol. The proportion of alcohol abusers did not exceed 4% among men and 2% among women, without showing a significant age-related decline. The prevalence of low physical activity was 34%, its rate decreased with age. In the age group of 50-54 years, men were more physically active; however, their activity decreased with increasing age and no longer exceeded that in women. Excessive salt intake was observed in 49.3%. The prevalence of hypertension was 69.3% of persons aged 50-64 years. This indicator was higher in 50-54-year-old men and in 60-64-year-old women. The mean systolic BP increased with age. Diastolic BP ranged from 83.3 mm Hg in younger working women to 89.5 mm Hg in unemployed men 50-59 years of age. The highest obesity prevalence assessed by body mass index, as well as the frequency of abdominal obesity among the examinees was found among unemployed study participants. The employed showed an increase in the frequency of RF with age; this trend was not found in the unemployed. The frequency of obesity in men was lower than in women, regardless of age and employment (p<0.0001). The prevalence of type 2 DM ranged from 6.1 to 19% and increased with age. The highest prevalence was recorded among the unemployed in the older age group. Conclusion. The RF profile has a number of characteristics in pre-pensioners. By and large, there is a reduction in the spread of behavioral RFs. However, this may be associated with a survival effect, i.e. early mortality in persons having RFs at a younger age and those with the age-related accumulation of pathology that forces to abandon bad habits. Those who are older than the working age versus those who are younger are more physically active. The prevalence of obesity, type 2 DM, and hypertension increases with age to a greater extent among women. It has been established that the unemployed are burdened with diseases and those are with RFs and diseases to a greater extent than the employed. It is possible that this is due to the fact that the presence of comorbidity and a great deal of RFs make them difficult to work.