From the former Soviet Union: Socioeconomic health inequalities exist in post-communist Lithuania

doi:10.1136/bmj.331.7510.236-a

BMJ 2005;331:236 (23 July), doi:10.1136/bmj.331.7510.236-a

Letter

From the former Soviet Union

Socioeconomic health inequalities exist in post-communist Lithuania

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR—With regard to the health problems highlightedby McKee and Fister,¹ socioeconomic differences and changesare relevant contributors for health policy makers in Lithuania.Lithuania is characterised not only by a high level of socialinequality but also by low social care expenditure. Social careexpenditure comprises 25-35% of gross national product in EuropeanUnion countries, whereas it accounts for only about 15% in Lithuania.The income inequality indicator (Gini coefficient) was 35.4%in 2002.² Social inequality has been strongly influenced bythe fact that even 17% of the working population is engagedin agriculture and nearly one third of the rural populationlives in rural districts.

According to our data analysis, the prevalence of self reportedhealth problems is 72.2% in the rural population and 60.3% inthe urban population. A higher prevalence of self reported healthproblems (69.7%) was estimated in women than in men (57.6%).. . . [Full text of this article]

Antanas Jurgelenas, senior research worker

antanas.jurgelenas@ekmi.vu.lt
Institute of Experimental and Clinical Medicine at Vilnius University, Zygimantu 9, LT-01102, Vilnius, Lithuania

Diana Mieliauskaite, PhD, Rima Filipaviciute, PhD

Institute of Experimental and Clinical Medicine at Vilnius University, Zygimantu 9, LT-01102, Vilnius, Lithuania