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The European Journal of Public Health Advance Access published online on December 26, 2007
The European Journal of Public Health, doi:10.1093/eurpub/ckm124
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© The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.

An investigation of the growing number of deaths of unidentified people in Russia

Evgueni Andreev1, William Alex Pridemore2, Vladimir M. Shkolnikov1 and Olga I. Antonova3

1 Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Konrad Zuse Strasse 1, Rostock 18057, Germany
2 Indiana University, 302 Sycamore Hall, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
3 Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation, 39 Myasnitskaya Street, 107240, Moscow, Russia

Correspondence: William Alex Pridemore, Indiana University, 302 Sycamore Hall, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA, tel: +1 812 856 2220, fax: +1 812 855 5522, e-mail: wpridemo{at}indiana.edu

Received June 26, 2007 , accepted November 29, 2007

Background: We examined mortality among working-age Russian men whose identity could not be determined, focusing on where and how they died. Methods: Employing micro-data from deaths that occurred in Izhevsk (Ural region) between June 2004 and September 2005, we analysed the characteristics of decedent men aged 25–54 (n = 2158). Differences between completely identified (n = 1699) and unidentified deaths (n = 282) were compared via logistic regression. Data on all deaths in Russia in 2002 were used for supplemental comparisons. Results: We found that relative to identified men, unidentified men were at a higher risk of death from exposure to natural cold, violence, alcoholic cardiomyopathy, acute respiratory infections and poisonings. Our results also revealed that alcohol played an important role in the mortality of unidentified men. The places and causes of death among these unidentified men provide substantial evidence of their homelessness and social isolation. Conclusion: The increase in deaths among unidentified men of working-age indicates the emergence of a health threat associated with homelessness and social marginalization. This vulnerable group is exposed to different levels and causes of mortality compared with the larger population and represent a new challenge that requires serious and immediate scholarly attention and policy responses.

Keywords: alcohol consumption, homeless persons, mortality, Russia


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