Analysis of mortality from musculoskeletal diseases as underlying and multiple causes in the residents of the Tula region

Musculoskeletal diseases (MSDs) are a topical medical, social, and economic problem. According to the 2015 data, MSDs in the structure of primary morbidity were 3.9% and those in the structure of mortality were 0.2% in the Russian Federation. Official mortality statistics is formed only by one (underlying) cause of death. The study of multiple causes of death will enable the understanding of its mechanisms, the necessity of making changes in the management tactics for patients and in the standards of medical care, as well as the possibility of correcting the mortality reduction plans. Objective: to investigate the reliability of statistics on MSD mortality and the ways of its reduction, by analyzing the underlying and multiple causes of death. Materials and methods. This investigation used a database on medical death certificates of the residents of the Tula Region in 2015. Mortality rates were calculated by conventional statistical methods. Death rates for the Russian Federation and the Tula Region were taken from the book «Medico-demographic indicators of the Russian Federation in 2015» by the Ministry of Health of Russia and C52 tables by the Federal State Statistics Service. The 2012-2014 European mortality databases were used for international comparisons. Results and discussion. The mortality rates were analyzed using the underlying and multiple causes of death. Expert evaluation showed that the 2015 mortality rates from MSDs were underestimated by approximately 11%. The MSD mortality rates in the Tula Region were 2.4 and 2.7 times higher than those in the entire Russian Federation and in Europe, respectively. Defects were found in drawing up medical death certificates. The reliability of mortality statistics was shown to be related to monitoring, physician training, and introduction of an automated system. Emphasis is laid on the correction of treatment tactics for patients with MSD.