Abstract
<jats:p>Background. In Ukraine, the premature mortality rate significantly exceeds a similar one in developed countries of the world and is one of the most acute modern social problems. Deaths caused by injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes occupy a leading place in the structure of deaths in the population of the country. Therefore, studies on the assessment of the volume and structure of years of potential life lost (YPLL) in connection with premature deaths from injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes (IPEC) in the Chornobyl NPP accident clean-up workers (ACWs) in Ukraine are relevant. Purpose – to assess the volume and structure of YPLL in connection with premature deaths caused by injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes in the Chornobyl NPP accident clean-up workers in Ukraine. Materials and Methods. The study used information resources of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine for 1988–2017 on the health status of more than 197.6 thousand people involved in works on the elimination of the consequences of the Chornobyl NPP accident in 1986–1990, and the State Statistics Service of Ukraine on the average life expectancy at birth. The potential demography method was used to calculate the years of life lost as a result of premature mortality from IPEC in the ACWs. Results. A review of the electronic database of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine for 1988–2017 revealed 7,771 people who died from IPEC (98.7 % - men), which corresponds to the characteristics of the cohort formation. It was found that 7,477 ACWs (96.4 % of men and 77.9 % of women) died prematurely (under 65 years of age). Until 1992, all deaths were premature, and after 1993, their share gradually increases from 0.3 to 25.8 % in 2017. It was found that the average age of death of ACWs who died prematurely from IPEC during the study period constantly increases from 31.9 to 56.4 years of age. Accordingly, the dynamics of the average number of years lost per one ACWwho died prematurely from IPECis positive (from 34.9 years to 17.5 years) and is a consequence of their transition to older ages. During 1989–2017, 172.3 thousand years of potential life were lost from premature deaths caused by IPEC in the ACWs of the country (98.7 % of losses are accounted for by men). In the structure, more than 71 % of deaths in total were caused by injuries of various localization (S00–S99, T00–T14; 65.1 thousand person-years or 37.7 %), alcohol use (T51; 31.4 thousand person-years or 18.6 %), asphyxia (T71; 8.8 thousand person-years or 16.8 %). The majority of premature deaths occurred at the age of 35 to 49 years (50–60 %), which corresponds to the general algorithm of social modernization of mortality in the country. Conclusions. The volume and structure of premature deaths caused by IPEC in the ACWs of the country, no doubt, prove the significance of a problem of premature mortality, as a threat to health and well-being of the cohort. The majority of them correspond to the general algorithm of social modernization of mortality in the country. Taking into account the availability and quality of medical services that are guaranteed by the state to the ACWs in the post-accident period, we may assume that they are barely inclined to stick to a healthy lifestyle and take insufficient responsibility for their own health and individual behavior that impacts their health.</jats:p>