Alcohol as a factor of gender gap in life expectancy at birth among rural and urban population of Belarus

In Belarus, the level of alcohol-related problems is much higher among rural population in comparison to urban population. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between alcohol-related problems and gender gap in life expectancy at birth among urban and rural population of Belarus. The trends in fatal alcohol poisonings and gender gap in life expectancy at birth among urban and rural population of Belarus between 1970 and 2015 were compared. In the period under consideration the gender gap in life expectancy at birth among urban and rural population has increased for males for 4.4 years (from 0.3 to 4.7 years) and for females for 4.1 years (from 01 to 3.1 years). The results of Spearman correlation analysis suggests positive relationship between fatal alcohol poisonings and gender gap in life expectancy at birth among urban and rural population for males (r=0,86; p