Coronavirus and premature mortality from non-communicable diseases in Russia

The global trend is currently an increase in mortality from noncommunicable diseases (NCD): cancer, cardiovascular, endocrinological, respiratory diseases. The COVID-19 pandemic has not stop the NCD epidemic, and gender characteristics, syndemicity, and polymorbidity of them contributed to persistence of differences in the number of years of life lost due to premature mortality among men and women (calculations for 2019 using the DALY method without taking into account the impact of health deterioration due to disability). The main losses from NCD-related premature mortality are connected with neoplasms and diseases of the circulatory system, that is fundamentally consistent with the general trend of age-related health deterioration, although at the age of the first five years of the «new retirement age» (65-69 years), there is a «gender reversal» of premature mortality: its share decreases in men, and increases in women. The age dynamics of changes in the number of deaths from neoplasms shows two peaks, one of which is particularly alarming - in children and adolescents, the proportion of deaths from it exceeds the corresponding indicator for cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, thus indicating cancer risk to children's health. In Russia, since May2020, excess mortality of the population has been recorded, 40% of which fell on NCD, and 60% - infectious diseases, including COVID-19 as the main or worsening cause of death from the underlying disease. The anti-epidemic reorientation of national health systems has had a significant negative impact on the health of patients with NCD, requiring special measures. At the same time, there is a favorable moment for a breakthrough development of the telemedicine services market, although it is constrained by the current legislation that prohibits establishing diagnosis and prescribing treatment during remote consultations.