Moscow and Moscow Oblast: Commonality and Specificity of Mortality Trends and Causes of Death

Background. The increasing life expectancy of the population of Russia and its regions is high on the agenda. Numerous studies have investigated population losses at the national level; however, such an approach hasn’t enabled to identify region-specific features. Objective. To identify the commonality and specificity of health issues in the population of Moscow and Moscow Oblast in the 2000s. Materials and methods. The research used data from the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation (Rosstat) on the mortality of the population of Moscow and Moscow Oblast from leading causes in the 2000s, including the 2019–2022 COVID-19 pandemic period. Results. In the 2000s, steady positive trends in life expectancy due to all the leading causes of death were observed both in Moscow and Moscow Oblast. At the same time, divergent mortality trends in Moscow and Moscow Oblast were noted for only one cause, i.e., gastrointestinal diseases: the mortality rates decreased among the population of Moscow and increased among the population of Moscow Oblast. The increasing mortality from socially important causes of death (such as infectious diseases) among the female population along with the decreasing losses in the male population were a common problem for both Moscow and Moscow Oblast.