Alcohol sales and gender difference in life expectancy in Russia

Background: Life expectancy at birth (LEB) is considered to be an important characteristic for quality of life. The difference in life expectancy at birth between males and females in Russia is unprecedently high compared with developed countries. Objective: The aim of the current study was to examine the aggregate-level relationship between the consumption of different alcoholic beverages and gender difference in LEB in Russia between 1970 and 2015. Method: To estimate the relation between these variables across the study period a time series analysis was performed using the statistical package “Statistica 12. Stat Soft”. Results: The results of analysis indicate that vodka sales are closely linked with gender difference in LEB in Russia: an additional liter of vodka sales per capita was estimated to increase in the difference between male and female LEB by 4.1%. Conclusions: This piece of evidence provides support for the hypothesis that high level of vodka consumption in conjunction with binge drinking pattern may be a major reason for the high gender difference in LEB and its dramatic fluctuations in Russia during the last few decades.