The “Epidemic” of Male Premature Mortality in Eastern Europe: A Spatial Perspective

Pavel Grigoriev, Federal Institute for Population Research (BiB), Germany
Domantas Jasilionis, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research / Vytautas Magnus University
Sergey Timonin, Australian National University
Nataliia Levchuk, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR)
Pavlo Shevchuk, Ptoukha Institute for Demography and Social Studies
OLGA PENINA, Academy of Sciences of Moldova
Katalin Kovács, Hungarian Demographic Research Institute
Sebastian Kluesener, Federal Institute for Population Research (BiB), Germany

Male premature mortality remains one of the most critical components of the persisting health disadvantage of Eastern Europe. This study aims at assessing the spatial distribution of male premature mortality and its changes over time up until the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. A special focus is put on cross-border regions. Our analyses are based on official regional mortality data obtained for 3550 spatial units in 12 countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the former Soviet Union (FSU). These data include death counts by year, sex, five-year age group, medical cause, and district over the period 2003-2019. We focus on all-cause, cardiovascular, and external cause mortality. Our results show a clear geographical divide between the CEE and FSU country blocks. The observed discontinuities of spatial patterns at national borders have become more apparent in recent years. Within the FSU block, hot-spots of male premature mortality are predominately located in the northwestern and western parts of European Russia. Within the CEE block, the majority of hot-spots are located in Hungary, eastern Romania, and the central and eastern parts of Poland.

Keywords: Mortality and Longevity, Spatial Demography, Inequality, Disadvantage and Discrimination

See extended abstract.