Ekologiya cheloveka (Human Ecology)

Population ageing is one of four major global demographic trends, alongside population growth, urbanization, and international migration. Despite the increasing prominence of demographic ageing, most countries remain insufficiently prepared to effectively respond to the emerging challenges and to harness the opportunities associated with changing population age structures. The implementation of healthy ageing policies requires coordinated efforts from intergovernmental organizations—primarily the United Nations and the World Health Organization—as well as from national governments, guided by a comprehensive understanding and consideration of the diverse needs of older populations.

This review presents the system of key activities of the United Nations Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021–2030), based on an analysis of reports from the World Health Organization and national healthy ageing policies implemented across various countries.

The paper examines the evolution of normative documents shaping conceptual approaches to healthy ageing, key trends in national ageing policies taking into account regional specificities of demographic ageing, and the integration of ageing-related topics into national programs and strategic documents of the United Nations. Interim results of the implementation of the United Nations Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021–2030) in 2021–2023 are analyzed.

The review emphasizes substantial differences in planning instruments used at various international, national, and regional levels within the framework of the United Nations Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021–2030). It is established that most national ageing policies have been developed in alignment with the priority areas of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing (2002), whereas also significantly overlapping with the main goals and objectives of the United Nations Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021–2030).

BACKGROUND: Morbidity rates serve as key indicators in the comprehensive assessment of public health status. Analyzing their changes plays a crucial role in developing healthcare management strategies at both federal and regional levels. Moreover, such data are used for planning the development of medical infrastructure and identifying the resources needed for its implementation.

AIM: The work aimed to analyze long-term changes in overall and primary morbidity rates across the federal districts of the Russian Federation from 2010 to 2023, assess their trends, and construct predictive models.

METHODS: A retrospective analysis of long-term changes in overall and primary morbidity rates among the population of the federal districts of the Russian Federation was conducted based on data from 2010 to 2023.

RESULTS: An increase in overall morbidity was observed across all federal districts. The highest rates were recorded in the Northwestern Federal District, with a growth rate of 20.39% over the study period, whereas the lowest were in the North Caucasian Federal District, with a growth rate of 12.634%. In the Russian Federation, primary morbidity showed an upward trend, as evidenced by a growth coefficient of 1.046 and a growth rate of 4.601%. The highest rates of primary morbidity from 2010 to 2023 were observed in the Northwestern, Ural, and Volga Federal Districts, with growth rates of 16.869%, 16.279%, and 3.293%, respectively. The lowest primary morbidity rates were observed in the Central and Southern Federal Districts, as indicated by growth coefficients of 0.992 and 0.979 and growth rates of −0.786% and −2.126%, respectively.

CONCLUSION: The analysis of the overall morbidity coefficient revealed that 62.88% of its variability across the Russian Federation was accounted for by temporal changes. The trend demonstrated an unstable upward trajectory, and the parameters of the trend model were statistically significant (MAPE = 0.97; F_calc = 9.3169 > F_crit = 3.9823; p = 0.006). For the primary morbidity indicator, it was found that in the Russian federation only 43.54% of its variability was explained by changes in the time parameter. The indicator showed an unstable upward trend, with statistically significant trend model parameters (MAPE = 2.24; F_calc = 4.2417 > F_crit = 3.9823; p = 0.004). The medium-term forecast indicates an increase in both overall and primary morbidity across all federal districts. The growth rates of overall morbidity in the majority of federal districts, as well as in the Russian Federation as a whole, exceed the corresponding rates for primary morbidity.

BACKGROUND: Genetic safety assessments of food additives have traditionally been conducted using highly purified substances. In the Russian Federation, according to the requirements of the Customs Union Technical Regulation, genotoxicity testing of approved food colorants is not mandatory. The regulation is limited to determining the content of the main colorant component and select constituents. However, this approach is insufficient, as it does not account for the possible presence of toxic and genotoxic impurities in food colorants.

AIM: To evaluate the genetic safety of a commercially available Ponceau 4R (E124)-based food colorant using the micronucleus assay on human whole blood culture with cytokinesis block, both in the presence and absence of a metabolic activation system.

METHODS: The Ponceau 4R-based colorant was purchased in a retail store. The cells from a healthy donor were cultured under cytokinesis-block conditions with and without S9 rat liver metabolic activation, exposed to the colorant at concentrations ranging from 0 to 2 mg/mL. Cytome assay was performed using an extended micronucleus assay protocol. Statistical analysis was conducted using the χ² test and the Mann–Whitney U test.

RESULTS: A statistically significant increase in the frequency of cells with genetic damage was observed, following a U-shaped dose–response pattern. Without metabolic activation, significant effects were found at concentrations of 0.0000256, 0.00064, and 0.4 mg/mL; with S9 activation, at concentrations of 0.0000256, 0.000128, and 0.016 mg/mL. In addition, in the presence of the S9 fraction, an increased frequency of trinucleated cells, stimulation of mitotic activity, and suppression of apoptosis were also observed.

CONCLUSION: Genotoxic effects of the Ponceau 4R-based food colorant obtained from the retail market were detected at or below the acceptable daily intake level for humans. The proposed approach may serve as a foundation for the development of a system for genetic safety assessment of food colorants and additives.

BACKGROUND: Sunflower seeds are characterized by their year-round availability, high nutritional value, and relatively low cost. Medical professionals and applied science experts emphasize the importance of incorporating whole sunflower seeds into the general population’s diet. However, concerns about consumer safety—particularly the elevated cadmium content in sunflower seeds—are periodically raised in mass media. The Oil and Fat Union of Russia acknowledges the existence of this issue. At the same time, there is no consensus among scientists regarding the permissible levels of heavy metals in food and their overall impact on human health and the food chain.

AIM: The study aimed to assess the contribution of cadmium to the total toxic load from heavy metals present in sunflower seeds and to determine potential health risks associated with their regular consumption using dietary simulation modeling.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study included food products of regional origin and water samples from 27 centralized water supply sources located in the areas where study participants resided. Seven-day dietary and water intake recall questionnaires were collected and processed from 160 physically healthy respondents of reproductive age. In addition, cadmium and other toxic elements were measured in 26 samples of snack-type sunflower seeds using chemical analysis.

RESULTS: The permissible concentration of toxic elements in sunflower seeds was exceeded only for cadmium, with an average content of 0.23 ± 0.06 mg/kg. Daily consumption of the seeds in the amount recommended by nutritionists (50 g per day), cadmium intake ranges from 0.007 to 0.009 mg, which is twice as high as the intake from food and water—0.0033 ± 0.0012 mg and 0.0007 ± 0.0003 mg, respectively.

CONCLUSION: Simulation modeling of dietary inclusion of 50 g of snack-type sunflower seeds predicts an oral cadmium intake corresponding to an average of 31.4% of the tolerable daily intake established in the Russian Federation.