Fatal cases of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome in Udmurtia, Russia, 2010 to 2019.

Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) continues to be a cause of death in Europe. Our aim was to describe the clinical and histopathological features of fatal HFRS in the Udmurt Republic (Udmurtia), located in the European part of Russia. This retrospective observational study included all fatal cases of HFRS that occurred in Udmurtia from January 2010 through December 2019.

Pathologic morphology of acute experimental osteomyelitis.

The goal of our work was to study the changes in the bone tissue, bone marrow and surrounding tissues in animals during early stages of experimental osteomyelitis. Osteomyelitis was simulated in 30 infants rabbits aged 3-4 months whose body weight accounted 1200-1600 grams through the insertion of 5-6 million of aurococcus into the marrow channel of a shinbone. The study of bone marrow, bone tissue and surrounding tissue was conducted 30 minutes, 6, 12, 24, 48 and 60 hours after the contamination with the help of light and electronic (transmission and scanning) microscopy.

Comparative performance of biomarkers of alcohol consumption in a population sample of working-aged men in Russia: the Izhevsk Family Study.

Aims: To assess the performance of a range of biomarkers of alcohol consumption in a heavy-drinking population of working-aged Russian men.

Design: Cross-sectional study of men originally sampled at random from a population register.

Setting: Izhevsk, a Russian city with a population of 650 000 people.

Alcohol-related dysfunction in working-age men in Izhevsk, Russia: an application of structural equation models to study the association with education.

Background: Acute alcohol-related dysfunctional behaviours, such as hangover, are predictive of poor health and mortality. Although much is known about the association of education with alcohol consumption, little is known about its association with these dysfunctional behaviours.

Methods: The study population was 1,705 male drinkers aged 25-54 years resident in the city of Izhevsk, Russia who participated in a cross-sectional survey (2003-6).

Hazardous alcohol consumption is associated with increased levels of B-type natriuretic peptide: evidence from two population-based studies.

Russia has very high mortality from cardiovascular disease (CVD), with evidence that heavy drinking may play a role. To throw further light on this association we have studied the association of alcohol with predictors of CVD risk including B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP). Levels of BNP increase primarily in response to abnormal cardiac chamber wall stretch which can occur both as a result of atherosclerosis as well as due to other types of damage to the myocardium.

Hazardous alcohol consumption is a major factor in male premature mortality in a typical Russian city: prospective cohort study 2003-2009.

Introduction: Russia has experienced massive fluctuations in mortality at working ages over the past three decades. Routine data analyses suggest that these are largely driven by fluctuations in heavy alcohol drinking. However, individual-level evidence supporting alcohol having a major role in Russian mortality comes from only two case-control studies, which could be subject to serious biases due to their design.

The efficacy of a brief intervention in reducing hazardous drinking in working age men in Russia: the HIM (Health for Izhevsk men) individually randomised parallel group exploratory trial.

Background: Russia has particularly low life expectancy for an industrialised country, with mortality at working ages having fluctuated dramatically over the past few decades, particularly among men. Alcohol has been identified as the most likely cause of these temporal variations. One approach to reducing the alcohol problem in Russia is 'brief interventions' which seek to change views of the personal acceptability of excessive drinking and to encourage self-directed behaviour change.

Socio-demographic predictors of dimensions of the AUDIT score in a population sample of working-age men in Izhevsk, Russia.

Aims: To investigate the relationship between socio-demographic factors and alcohol drinking patterns identified through a formal analysis of the factor structure of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) score in a population sample of working-age men in Russia.

Methods: In 2008-2009, a sample of 1005 men aged 25-59 years living in Izhevsk, Russia were interviewed and information collected about socio-demographic circumstances. Responses to the AUDIT questions were obtained through a self-completed questionnaire.

Alcohol increases circulatory disease mortality in Russia: acute and chronic effects or misattribution of cause?

Background: There is a consensus that the large fluctuations in mortality seen in Russia in the past two decades can be attributed to trends in alcohol consumption. However, the precise mechanisms linking alcohol to mortality from circulatory disease remain unclear. It has recently been argued that a substantial number of such deaths currently ascribed to cardiovascular disorders are misclassified cases of acute alcohol poisoning.

A case-control analysis of socio-economic and marital status differentials in alcohol- and non-alcohol-related mortality among working-age Russian males.

Background: We examined the role of socio-economic status (SES) and marital status in premature mortality among working-age Russian males. Life expectancy among this group dropped sharply following the collapse of the Soviet Union and has yet to recover despite the relative economic and political stability of the last decade.

Methods: We employed individual-level data from a large-scale, population-based, case-control study (n = 3500).

The HIM (Health for Izhevsk Men) trial protocol.

Background: Russia is one of the very few industrialised countries in the world where life expectancy has been declining. Alcohol has been implicated as a major contributor to the rapid fluctuations observed in male life expectancy since 1985 that have been particularly marked among working-age men. One approach to reducing the alcohol problem in Russia is 'brief interventions' which seek to change views of the personal acceptability of excessive drinking and to encourage self-directed behaviour change.

Identifying the determinants of premature mortality in Russia: overcoming a methodological challenge.

Background: It is thought that excessive alcohol consumption is related to the high mortality among working age men in Russia. Moreover it has been suggested that alcohol is a key proximate driver of the very sharp fluctuations in mortality seen in this group since the mid-1980s. Designing an individual-level study suitable to address the potential acute effects of alcohol consumption on mortality in Russia has posed a challenge to epidemiologists, especially because of the need to identify factors that could underlie the rapid changes up and down in mortality rates that have been such a distinctive feature of the Russian mortality crisis.

Hazardous alcohol drinking and premature mortality in Russia: a population based case-control study.

Background: The reason for the low life expectancy in Russian men and large fluctuations in mortality are unknown. We investigated the contribution of alcohol, and hazardous drinking in particular, to male mortality in a typical Russian city.

Methods: Cases were all deaths in men aged 25-54 years living in Izhevsk occurring between Oct 20, 2003, to Oct 3, 2005.

The composition of surrogate alcohols consumed in Russia.

Background: In the course of a case-control study examining determinants of premature death among working age men, it became clear that a significant percentage of the population (7.3%) were drinking a variety of surrogate alcohol products (products not legally sold for consumption). In this population, where there is a high death rate from alcohol-related causes, including acute alcohol poisoning, it was important to know what these products contained.