While visiting our Moscow office recently, Yuri-san from Agab, our Russian Agent for medical business handed me a one-centimeter thick booklet entitled "Dying Too Young." I thought that maybe it was a recent Russian novel translated into English, and I wondered if it was a war story or a romantic novel. Could it be the Russian version of "Dying Young", the 1991 film starring Julia Roberts? Then I noticed the World Bank logo printed in the bottom left hand corner of the cover, and I realized that it was an assessment report regarding the health of the Russian people. I went on to read its sub-title, which read "Addressing Premature Mortality and Ill Health Due to Non-Communicable Diseases and Injuries in the Russian Federation".

However, I was a bit bewildered by this sensational title, which the World Bank had chosen to use for a report of this kind. After looking through the book however, I understood why they had chosen such a sensational title and their need to shock. The reason was mentioned in the State of the Nation address given by President Vladimir Putin on April 25, 2005, which is printed in the preface of the book.

"I am deeply convinced that the success of our policy in all spheres of life is closely linked to the solution of our most acute demographic problems. We cannot reconcile ourselves to the fact that the life expectancy of Russian women is nearly 10 years and of men nearly 16 years shorter than in Western Europe." He points out the poor health status of Russia's economically active adult population challenges sustainable growth, and goes on to say, "Our work must result in the young generation recognizing the need for a healthy lifestyle and physical exercise. Each young person must realize that a healthy lifestyle means success, his or her personal success."

The report shows a pessimistic view of Russia's future indicating a decline in the population. The 2003 population of 143 million is expected to shrink by over 30% over the next 50 years, which means that Russia will have a population of 100 million by the year 2050. The life expectancy at birth in 2001 was 66 and the probability of dying between ages 15 and 60 for males in 2000-2001 was 42.4%. Can you imagine nearly half of your teenage friends die before you reach 60!? More tragic is the fact that life expectancy for Russian men peaked in 1964 at 65 years and was only 58 years in 2003. However, Russian women have a similar life expectancy, at 72 years, when compared with women in other developed nations. The shorter life span of Russian men has led to dramatic figures, with the number of men per 1,000 women falling from 877 in 1987 to 872 in 2002.

However, unlike other developed nations, Russia's leading causes of death and ill health are non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and injuries, which account for 68% of deaths. More surprisingly cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and injuries account for 78% of deaths. Cardiovascular diseases (CVD), which top the list, can be attributed to the natural and social environment that Russian people live in as well as the lifestyle they lead. The report went on to say that Russia's cardiovascular disease death rate per 100,000 people in 2002 was 994, which is one of the world's worst; three times higher than that of the United States at 317. CVD`s account for almost 52% of deaths in Russia, compared to 38% in the US. This fact led a 2004 World Bank report to conclude that Russia could gain 6.7 years of life expectancy if she could match the European Union's CVD mortality rates.

It is evident from this report that the socioeconomic changes Russia has endured over the past two decades have been critical in the emergence of CVD`s, and that working males have been the most severely hit. From the graph on the left you can see that Russia's mortality decreased dramatically from 1990 to 1994, which coincides with the period of the sudden transition to a market economy, following the financial crises of 1998 when the ruble crashed and the IMF stepped in. Russian males were hit harder as indicated in the chart on the right and as a result of these two socioeconomic changes, men's average life expectancy deteriorated to 58 years.


Yuri Grotov-san from Agab has been the driving force behind our blood pressure business in Russia and constantly introduces new and intriguing ideas and businesses to us. In the past his attention has been mainly focused on new products and business development, but with the release of this report, he has begun pushing the sales of our low-priced blood pressure monitors and aggressively promoting our most competitively priced semi-automatic monitor, the UA-704. During discussions relating to the future of our business, Yuri-san has expressed his commitment to helping Russian people improve their quality of life and increase their life expectancy.

Consequently he has come up with a great new slogan for 2006, "BPM for Every Family!" "Тонометр в каждый дом"(Tonometri Bu Kajudi Dom). It sums up perfectly what he wants to accomplish and what Russia needs. Even though blood pressure monitoring is only a small step in improving the situation, it will be a strong move towards better monitoring of public health, as cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death among the Russian working people.

Yuri-san, let's go for it! We are behind you 100 percent and happy to support your efforts to improve the critical situation now facing Russia. Accurate BP monitoring is a very small step in tackling the surmounting problems, but making the necessary tools available is a critically important step forward for the people. We are determined to support his campaign efforts by offering new products and new ideas. By supporting Agab's "BPM for Every Family" campaign and making it a success together, we know that we can help improve the longevity crisis of the Russian working male, who is suffering unfairly due to his country's socioeconomic changes.

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