The duration of a human life depends on many factors. Mortality is a statistical indicator, the ratio of the number of deaths to the total population. Mortality factors are traditionally divided into 2 groups: endogenous and exogenous. The first group includes the natural aging of the body, congenital malformations, hereditary diseases and some other factors that depend on the biological characteristics of the human body and its heredity. Exogenous is associated with the influence of the external environment. This group includes accidents, infectious diseases, poisoning, acute digestive diseases, breathing and other injuries.
Endogenous factors
The influence of endogenous factors is caused to a greater extent by the aging of the body, therefore it is concentrated in older people. But the man himself and the environment surrounding him are able to slightly correct the negative impact of endogenous factors on the body. This introduces an element of chance into the influence of these factors. However, in general, the element of chance will be insignificant, and the relationship between the probability of death and age will be significant.
Exogenous factors
The impact of exogenous factors on the human body, on the contrary, is random, disordered. This accident is largely justified by the fact that the same cause of death can be various external factors.
Mortality as an indicator
Mortality is an indicator that reflects the state of public health . The mortality rate characterizes the economic and social health of the country, reflects the effectiveness of the policy pursued by the authorities. The most indicative in this regard will be such indicators as the maternal mortality rate, infant mortality rate, mortality from external causes - poisoning, trauma, mortality among the able-bodied population, the gap between the expected life expectancy of women and men. In medicine, population mortality is a quantitative indicator that reflects the number of deaths from a particular disease in relation to the average population.
The mortality rate is an indicator that shows the number of deaths per year in relation to the average annual population. It is considered to be general and practically not suitable for any comparisons, since its value is largely dependent on the characteristics of the age structure of society. Based on this indicator, a first rough estimate is made.
Fertility, mortality
Fertility and mortality are dynamic indicators characterizing the population size and its change. Fertility is the population’s ability to grow or, in other words, the number of births per 1000 people per year. Mortality is the opposite of fertility. It is calculated as the number of individuals that died in a given period of time, but usually in the form of a relative or specific value. Fertility and mortality are those indicators on the basis of which the change in the number of population is calculated.
Population change
The natural movement of the population expresses the cumulative value of the processes of fertility and mortality, due to which a constant renewal and change of generations is ensured. In cases where the birth rate exceeds mortality, a natural population growth can be observed; in opposite cases, a natural decrease occurs. To characterize the birth rate, a common birth rate is usually used . It is calculated as the number of births per year in relation to 1000 inhabitants.
The totality of the processes of mortality, fertility and, of course, natural growth are all components of the reproduction of the population. There are two types of population reproduction. One of them is characterized by low fertility and mortality rates, and, consequently, natural growth. This type is reflected mainly in developed countries. The second type is characterized by rather high values of both fertility and a natural increase in the number of population and relatively low mortality rates. Refers primarily to developing countries.
Infant mortality rates
Infant mortality is the death of children in the first year of life. This indicator significantly exceeds mortality in other age groups, except for senile and advanced age. A reduction in infant mortality contributes to an increase in life expectancy. However, when calculating the indicator, some difficulties may arise. For example, a child was born in one calendar year and died in another. There is a specified indicator, which is calculated by the Rats formula: the number of children who died in the first year of life in relation to 2/3 of those born alive in the reporting year and 1/3 of those born alive in the previous year.
According to WHO recommendations, infant mortality is one of the main indicators not only of public health, but also of the general standard of living of the population, the quality of work of the healthcare structure. Even at present, infant mortality is an indicator that is significantly higher than other mortality rates in other age groups.
Maternal mortality in Russia and the world
According to WHO recommendations, this term refers to all cases of death of women due to pregnancy (regardless of its duration) that occurred during pregnancy or within 42 days after its termination. Accidents or accidental circumstances are excluded. Maternal mortality is another indicator of population mortality. It is calculated as the ratio of the number of deaths during pregnancy, childbirth and in the first 42 days to the number of live births, multiplied by 100 thousand.
Cases of maternal mortality include direct obstetric death (miscarriage, obstetric care, postpartum care, etc.) and indirect obstetric death (a consequence of previously existing diseases that developed during pregnancy).
Mortality rates in Russia
As for Russia, rising mortality is a ten-year trend. It is associated primarily with an aging population. In regions with a predominantly young population, the mortality rate is lower than in territories with an older population. This, for example, the Tver and Pskov regions.
The Russian phenomenon of supermortality is reflected in the working age of the population. Compared to most countries with levels of economic development comparable with Russia, mortality in Russia is 3-5 times higher for men and more than 2 times higher for women. This is also associated with specific risk factors associated with the peculiarities of the lifestyle of Russians.
The healthcare system faces two significant challenges. The first is the structure of the pathology of the early industrial society, affecting mainly children and the young working population. The second - problems with the demographically old age group of the population. Thus, in Russia, mortality is an extremely specific situation, uncharacteristic of either developed or developing countries.