Life expectancy in Central and Eastern European countries and newly inedependent states of the former Soviet Union: Changes by gender

Aim. To examine changes in life expectancy at birth for countries in Centra l and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the Newly Independent States of the former S oviet Union (NIS) for the period 1989-1996. Differences in the change by ge nder were examined and several factors which likely bear on the changes wer e discussed. Methods. Data from the WHO Health for All European Data Base were used to d etermine changes in life expectancy and selected economic factors for CEE a nd NIS countries. Results. Changes in life expectancy varied by gender in both CEE and the NI S, with the difference increasing for the tno groups during the period with the largest increase occurring in the NIS. Both male and female life expec tancy declined, with male life expectancy dropping at a more rapid rate. In 1994, the year in which most, but not all countries, reached a low point, life expectancy for males had declined below 60 years for two countries. Conclusions. The most striking point about the decline in life expectancies was the short period in which the declines occurred, especially in the NIS . It is not possible to determine the exact cause for the changes, but ther e are likely multiple reasons. It is not completely clear why the decline i n life expectancy was greater for males, although the linkage between econo mic and behavioral and lifestyle factors appear to have some association. F urther research is necessary to determine why effects by gender vary so gre atly and whether the negative outcomes are a short-term anomaly or will per sist.