Abortion in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia): Incidence and Trends

Abstract

Background: The abortion incidence is influenced by many medical and socioeconomic factors. In some way, it indicates the wellbeing of the population, and the abortion statistics can show the ways to improve medical services and to raise the living standards of people. The objective of the study was to estimate the abortion incidence and to describe its current trends in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) (the RS(Y)). Materials and Methods:The study was designed as a population-based descriptive study, based on the results of a longitudinal analysis of national and regional reports of the Yakut healthcare services and an analysis of medical records describing 34,220 abortions among women living in all regions of Yakutia, which occurred between 2010 and 2014 and in the first 9 months of 2015.Results: The absolute number of abortions performed each year, the rate of abortions per 1,000 women of fertile age, and the rate of abortions per 100 deliveries declined (P<0.01) by about 37%, 32% and 37%, respectively, between 2006 and 2014. The rate of abortions per 1000 women of fertile age in the first 9 months of 2015 decreased by 1.3%, compared to the same period of 2014 (P=0.05). Though the number of abortions in primigravida women decreases every year, the percentage of them is still rather high, especially at the age of 20 to 24 and 15 to 19, accounting for approximately 2.4% of all abortions. The relative number of miscarriages before 12 weeks of pregnancy increased. Changes in the relative number of abortions performed between 12 to 21 weeks of pregnancy characterized by a decrease in the percentage of miscarriages from 2012 to 2015 and a dramatic increase in the percentage of therapeutic abortions. Conclusion:The revealed trends of the absolute number of abortions and the rates of occurrence in the RS(Y) can be considered in total as favorable, but compared to the data obtained in Russia in total, the dynamics of these trends cannot be regarded as satisfactory. Simplicity of medication abortions can lead to an increase in the absolute number of abortions, especially in adolescents and young women. Analysis of spatial and temporal distribution of the incidence of abortions did not reveal any association with the ethnicity of women.(Int J Biomed. 2016;6(3):218-221.).