Socio-ecological Aspects of the Demographic Profile of the Volgograd

Region Population

G. A. Sevriukova

1,2,3 a

, I. V. Khvastunova

and R. E. Akhundova

Volgograd State Technical University, Lenin avenue, 28, Volgograd, Russia

Volgograd State Medical University, sq. Pavshikh Bortsov, 1, Volgograd, Russia

Volgograd State University, University Avenue, 100, Volgograd, Russia

Keywords: Demography, Adaptation, Social Problems, Ecology.

Abstract: In the work, on the basis of the gender differentiation coefficient, the demographic profile shall be determined

and the age periods of the decrease in the male population of the Volgograd region shall be established. In

urban living conditions, the decline begins at the age of 30-34; in rural conditions - from 50-54 years. However,

the fact of a fast decrease in the proportion of men 60-64 years old living in rural areas of the Volgograd

region was revealed. This decrease has a number of interrelated reasons: firstly, at a given age, labor activity

decreases, the social status of a person changes; secondly, the decline in labor activity is superimposed on a

kind of shortage of leisure activities that maintain a high socio-cultural standard of living of this age stratum.

The vacuum of creative social activity is filled with elements of addictive behavior, increased consumption

of alcohol, family conflicts, and gender-based violence at home, which are the triggers of the loss of gender

balance. Analysis of the trend of the gender differentiation coefficient in 13 age groups (from "16-17 years

old" to "over 70 years old"), taking into account the "comfort / hypo-comfort" of living conditions, made it

possible to establish an inversion of the dominance of this factor for people of the older age group of the

population. Upon reaching the pre-retirement and retirement age, emotional-psychological, inherently

endogenous factors, the transformation of a person's social status, a deficit of full-fledged active leisure

become predominant in terms of limiting life expectancy and determine the rate of premature aging of the

population.

1 INTRODUCTION

South of Russia is characterized by vast territorial

agglomerates, among which there are several regions

where comfortable living and effective creative

activity of the working-age population depend on a

set of environmental factors (Sevriukova, 2020).

Among the main factors that significantly affect the

duration of active social life of a person, there are

technogenic factors caused by a large-scale industrial

sector formed over decades (Cai, 2019).

The ecology of the Volgograd region is

determined by anthropogenic and technogenic

factors: emissions (nitrogen oxides, carbon

monoxide, suspended solids, sulfur compounds,

hydrocarbon compounds, metal oxides, hydrogen

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9149-2439

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3566-9225

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9149-2439

chloride) enter the atmospheric air for a long time; the

unstable state of the water management complex, that

affects the quality of drinking water; the presence of

unauthorized dumping sites added an additional

affection to the balance of the ecological system of

the Volgograd region.

The common ecological situation is closely

interconnected with the climatic and seasonal

conditions of the sharply continental climate of the

Volgograd region, which are effect on the health and

quality of life of the able-bodied population. All of

the above allows us to state the presence of a

multifactorial, longitudinal negative impact of

anthropogenic transformation of the environment on

the duration, quality of life and comfort in the

Sevriukova, G., Khvastunova, I. and Akhundova, R.

Socio-ecological Aspects of the Demographic Proﬁle of the Volgograd Region Population.

DOI: 10.5220/0010663100003223

In Proceedings of the 1st International Scientiﬁc Forum on Sustainable Development of Socio-economic Systems (WFSDS 2021), pages 17-22

ISBN: 978-989-758-597-5

implementation of socio-economic activities of

people of working age in the region.

The accumulation of the effects of negative

factors affecting the health and quality of life of

people (Alves, 2017; Anderson, 2019), actualizes the

need for comprehensive studies of the demographic

situation in the Volgograd region, taking into account

the territorial ("city-village") and socio-ecological

differences in conditions of working activities and

living (comfortable - hypo-comfortable).

The purpose of the study: determination of socio-

ecological factors influencing the formation of the

demographic profile of the population of the

Volgograd region.

2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The sociological survey involved 1268 respondents

from the Volgograd region. The ratio of men and

women in the sociological survey: 42.8% and 57.2%,

respectively. During the study, the principle of

informed consent was observed: the respondents were

informed about the guarantee of non-disclosure of

personal data.

The quality of life was studied on the basis of a

subjective assessment (questionnaire - Google

forms), which included a list of the basic values of

human life: material wealth, living conditions,

ecology in the area of residence, family, food, sexual

relations, entertainment and recreation, position in

society, work, spiritual needs, social support, health

of relatives, personal health, peace of mind, bad

habits, hereditary diseases, geographical features

(place of residence).

The analysis of the state of the environment of the

Volgograd region and the city of Volgograd was

assessed by exogenous factors influencing the

demographic situation:

I - the level of air pollution according to the

registration of pollutants (nitrogen oxides, sulfur

dioxide, carbon monoxide, phenol, hydrogen

chloride, hydrogen sulfide, formaldehyde) and their

excess of maximum permissible concentrations;

II - the state of the water management complex

and the quality of drinking water (the number of

samples that do not meet hygienic standards in terms

of sanitary and chemical indicators, as well as the

number of priority pollutants in drinking water:

chloroform, iron, chlorides, sulfates, magnesium,

ammonia, fluorine, manganese, sodium);

III - the state of the soil cover (the presence of

radionuclides, problems of managing the processes of

formation, accumulation and processing of waste);

IV - the social and medical situation according to

the data of the diseases established for the first time

and exceeding the regional coefficient by 1.5 times.

Gender Differentiation Coefficient (GDC) (1):

GDC  ln

𝑀

𝐹

)

where GDC is the gender differentiation coefficient;

M - male, people; F - female, people), proposed by

the authors and first time used in works of this kind,

made it possible to compare not only the numerical

value of the ratio "men / women", but also the

direction of changes in the compared numbers:

negative GDC sign - decrease; positive sign -

increase.

3 RESEARCH RESULTS

According to the statistics of the Volgograd region

(2019-2020) the female population generally prevails

over the male population.

At the same time, the number of men of working age

(16-59 years old) was 74,429 more than women of the

same age group.

The gender differentiation coefficient for all age

groups of the urban population is 0.075; rural - 0.223.

Obviously that the male population predominates,

and this predominance is 2.97 times higher in rural

areas than in urban areas. However, statistics on the

population over the working age (men over 60 years

old; women over 55 years old) indicate a sharp

decline in the number of men. In general, in the

Volgograd region, there are less men (GDC = -0.815)

than women by 269,961 people. For the urban

population, this coefficient is -0.846, for the rural

population is -0.713. This indicates a smaller decline

in the number of men living in rural areas.

A detailed analysis of the quantitative ratio of men

and women by age showed that in urban conditions of

residence ( Volgograd) the number of men decreases

starting from the age of 30-34, while in rural

conditions of residence - from 50-54 years.

Fluctuations in the proportion of men relative to the

women in the Volgograd region have both sharply

positive peaks and sharply negative ones (Figure 1).

Thus, in the Volgograd region, the proportion of boys

aged 18-19 was significantly lower compared to the

number of girls (negative peak GDC). Presumably,

this is due to the service in the ranks of the Army of

the Russian Federation of males, who were called up,

for the most part, from the districts of the Volgograd

region, rather than from the city of Volgograd. Urban

WFSDS 2021 - INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC FORUM ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC SYSTEMS

youths perhaps had a postponement in connection

with their studies at the higher educational

establishments. Many young people from districts of

the region who come to study at Volgograd higher

educational establishments temporary live in the city

and often stay there for permanent residence.

Figure 1: The ratio of the population of the Volgograd

region by the gender differentiation coefficient as of

January 1, 2020.

In general, in the Volgograd region (city, region),

a significant decrease in the proportion of the male

population shall be observed from the age of 50-54.

However, there was a fast decrease in the proportion

of men aged 60-64 and also over 70 years old, living

in rural areas of the Volgograd region, compared with

urban residents.

Gender differentiation, on the example of the

Volgograd region, according to the analysis

performed, is not in favor of the male population.

Differentiation characterized by unevenness, with the

proportion of the male population by age group

decreasing progressively in relation to the proportion

of the female population with aging. Analysis of

statistical data for 1991-1994 - the period when

citizens who reached 50-54 years old in 2019 were

20-24 years old - showed the predominance of males,

i.e. the assumption that the number of men was

initially low compared to women was not justified.

Thirty years ago, the male population aged 20-24 was

24,960 more than the male population of the same age

as of January 1, 2020; 20 years ago, similar

differences were - 41,431 people and 10 years ago -

53,035 people.

The negative trend of gender differentiation became

the basis for the assumption about the co-dependence

of the environmental situation and the rate of

premature aging of the working age population,

especially men over 50-54 years old. This fact

determined the vector of further research, which were

aimed at identifying the features of the demographic

situation among the working-age population of the

Volgograd region, taking into account the territorial

and socio-ecological criteria for the quality assesment

of the living environment and labor activity of the

population.

Analysis of the state of the environment in

Volgograd and the Volgograd region made it possible

to identify areas with relatively comfortable and

hypocomfortable living conditions. Within the city of

Volgograd, there were identified areas with

hypocomfortable living conditions: Kirovsky,

Krasnoarmeisky, Traktorozavodskaya; in the

Volgograd region - Gorodishchensky, Mikhailovsky,

Novoanninsky. We have selected Kalachevsky,

Uryupinsky and Frolovsky as regional districts -

models, where living conditions are relatively

comfortable and satisfactory, taking into account the

principle of “copies of pairs”: a) remoteness from the

administrative center ( Volgograd); b) population size

(Figure 2).

Figure 2: Gender differentiation coefficient depending on

age and living conditions has: positive GDC values - the

predominance of the male population; negative GDC values

- female predominance.

-1,2

-0,7

-0,2

0,3

20000

120000

16-17

18-19

20-24

25-29

30-34

35-39

40-44

45-49

50-54

55-59

60-64

65-69

>70

GDC, у.е.

Number

of people

Men, person

Women, person

GDC for the city of Volgograd and the region

GDC onl

for the cit

of Vol

16-17

18-19

20-24

25-29

30-34

35-39

40-44

45-49

50-54

55-59

60-64

65-69

> 70

-1,1

-0,9

-0,7

-0,5

-0,3

-0,1

0,1

0,3

0,5

0,7

0,9

1,1

GDC, у.е.

Gorodishchenskiy region

Mikhailovsky region

Novoanninsky region

Kalachevsky region

Uryupinsky region

Frolovsk

ion

Socio-ecological Aspects of the Demographic Proﬁle of the Volgograd Region Population

According to our research, people in the age range

20 - 40 years old, living in areas with comfortable

conditions of the socio-ecological situation, have

significant differences in the gender differentiation

coefficient. In particular, there is a common tendency

for the appearance of "peaks" in the prevalence of the

male population in comparison with those parameters

in the indicated age interval in areas with

hypocomfortable living conditions. At the same time,

in all districts with hypocomfortable living

conditions, the statistical significance of interregional

differences in the coefficient of gender differentiation

is absent, that is, there is no “surge” in the prevalence

of the male population over the female population.

4 DISCUSSION OF RESULTS

Analysis of the quantitative ratio of men and women

by age made it possible to establish a decrease in the

number of men living in urban conditions (from 30-

34 years old) and in rural conditions (from 50-54

years old). However, fast decrease in the proportion

of men living in rural areas of the Volgograd region,

compared with urban residents, is noted at the age of

60-64, as well as over 70 years old. It is possible that

this decrease may have a number of interrelated

reasons.

Firstly, at this age, males often reduce their labor

activity, since the main professions of the village are

associated with physical labor - the social status of a

person changes (Alves, 2017; Guner, 2020;

Stromberg, 2021).

Secondly, the decrease in labor activity shall be

superimposed on a kind of deficit of leisure activities,

which to a certain extent discipline a person and

maintain a high socio-cultural standard of living of

this age stratum (Weber, 2020). The vacuum of

creative social activity fills with elements of addictive

behavior, increased consumption of alcohol including

low-quality or surrogate ones, intra-family conflicts,

and gender-based violence at home.

All of the above can serve as a trigger for the

accelerated development of a number of somatic

diseases and mental disorders, leading to the death of

men of early retirement age in a short period of time.

It should be noted that comfortable living

conditions in the village are the dominant factor in

maintaining health and the quantitative predominance

of the proportion of the male population for the age

group 20-40 (up to 49 years old). High-quality, full-

fledged leisure, the development of the health care

infrastructure, combined with a more favorable

environmental situation, contribute to the health

preservation of young men, so that in some districts

(Kalachevsky and Frolovsky), the proportion of the

young male population significantly prevails in the

simulated systems.

After 50 years, the comfort or hypo-comfort of the

living environment loses its dominant importance for

the formation of GDC: in all the simulated regions,

there were no significant differences in this indicator.

It can be assumed that upon reaching the pre-

retirement and retirement age, the factors of

emotional and psychological perception of the

information and social environment come to the first

place (Börsch-Supan, 2013). These factors limit life

expectancy and determine the rate of premature aging

(Wind, 2018; Cambois, 2020). It has been proved that

the male population is less resistant to stress, what is

quantitatively and objectively confirmed by the

overall negative dynamics of the gender

differentiation coefficient.

5 CONCLUSION

The problem of finding effective ways to prolong the

active longevity of the population of the Volgograd

region, especially those of pre-retirement and

retirement age, is inextricably linked with the solution

of many priority tasks that determine the conditions

for the diverse life of the population and their quality

of life.

According to the data obtained, the Volgograd

region is extremely heterogeneous in relation to the

influences of many factors of territorial, ecological,

socio-medical origin on the duration of a person's

socially and professionally active life.

At the same time, the most important factor in

maintaining the stability of the demographic profile

in the continuum of further anthropogenic,

technogenic, informational (associated with the

digitalization of society) transformation of the

environment is gender balance, which persists in

different age groups of the population.

The relative loss of gender balance, even in

certain private age groups, negatively affects the state

of the demographic situation as a whole. Gender ratio

are very flexible and are significantly related to age.

As the age increases, the proportion of men in the

Volgograd region as a whole decreases rather rapidly.

Moreover, this phenomenon is especially accelerated

in urban conditions, where the number of males

begins to decline from the age of 30-34. The rate of

decrease in the number of men in rural areas is

“lagging” in relation to the rate of urban areas by

WFSDS 2021 - INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC FORUM ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC SYSTEMS

about 20 years (a decrease in the male population

shall be observed from the age of 50-54).

An important factor in maintaining the stability of

the demographic environment (situation) is the

comfortable living conditions of a person in a

particular area of the city and region.

However, "comfort" is a collective, complex

concept determined by the ratio of at least four

particular exogenous factors: a) the level of

anthropogenic transformation of the air environment;

b) the state of the water management complex; c) the

state of the soil cover; d) the social and medical

situation in a particular area. Note that in some cases

all four factors are interrelated and can lead to the

effect of cumulation of negative effects on human

health and life expectancy.

The analysis of the listed particular exogenous

factors made it possible to identify comfortable and

hypocomfortable areas of the Volgograd region,

including the city of Volgograd. The latter in the city

include Kirovsky, Krasnoarmeisky,

Traktorozavodsky districts, in the region -

Gorodishchensky, Mikhailovsky, Novoanninsky

districts. Later, using the method of “copies of pairs”,

the relative comfort of a number of rural districts was

established - Kalachevsky, Uryupinsky, Frolovsky.

However, the analysis of long-term temporal

trends of the demographic situation requires the

search for rational quantitative indicators that clearly

reflect the ratio of the male and female population in

comfortable and hypocomfortable areas.

In connection with the above, in these studies,

along with an assessment of the general demographic

situation in comfortable and hypocomfortable areas

of the Volgograd region, the analysis of the dynamics

of the effective indicator, which clearly characterizes

the ratio of the number of men and women in the

population under consideration: the gender

differentiation coefficient (GDC), was carried out.

The study of the GDC trend in 13 age groups

(from "16-17 years old" to "over 70 years old") was

carried out differentially in different districts of the

Volgograd region, taking into account the comfort or

hypocomfort of living there. The Volgograd is

represented as a whole, due to the difficulty of

obtaining reliable statistical data on the gender

structure of the population of different age groups in

the inner city areas. Nevertheless, it should be noted

that the trend towards a decrease in the male

population, established in the present studies,

continues for several decades. Based on the data

obtained, a significant decrease in the influence (loss

of dominance) of the “comfort / hypocomfort” factor

for the formation of GDC in the older age groups of

the population was established.

After fifty years, upon reaching the pre-retirement

and retirement age, emotional-psychological,

inherently endogenous factors, the transformation of

a person's social status, a deficit of full-fledged, active

leisure become predominant in terms of limiting life

expectancy and determine the rate of premature aging

of the male population of the Volgograd region.

In view of the above, further in-depth studies are

needed to analyze the endogenous factors of aging.

Undoubtedly, the results of such studies will make it

possible to highly effectively influence the

prolongation of active longevity and an increase in

the life expectancy of the population of the Volgograd

region.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The reported study was funded by of Russian

Foundation for Basic Research (project № 20-013-

00387)

REFERENCES

Anderson R., (2019). Work-life balance over the course of

working life. Policies for an Ageing Workforce Work-

life balance, working conditions and equal

opportunities. In: Barslund M (Ed.). Brussels: Centre

for European Policy Studies (CEPS).

https://www.ceps.eu/wpcontent/uploads/2019/11/Polic

ies-for-an-ageing-work-force-1.pdf

Alves, L., Arruda, N., (2017). Socioeconomic differentials

and disease-free life expectancy of the elderly in Brazil.

International Journal of Population Studies. 3(1), 64-

78. DOI: 10.18063/ijps.2017.01.001

Börsch-Supan A., Brandt M., Hunkler C., Kneip T.,

Korbmacher J., Malter F. et al.,( 2013). Data resource

profile: the survey of health, ageing and retirement in

Europe (SHARE). International Journal of

Epidemiology, 42(4):992–1001. DOI:

10.1093/ije/dyt088

Cambois E., Brønnum-Hansen H., Hayward M., Nusselder

W.J., (2020). Monitoring Social Differentials in Health

Expectancies. In: C. Jagger, E.M. Crimmins, Y. Saito,

R.T. De Carvalho Yokota, H. Van Oyen, J-M. Robine

(Eds.). International Handbook of Health Expectancies

(pages 45-66). Cham, Springer International

Publishing. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-37668-0_4

Cai R., Chao J., Li D., Zhang M., Kong L., Wang Y.,

(2019). Effect of community-based lifestyle

interventions on weight loss and cardiometabolic risk

factors in obese elderly in China: A randomized

Socio-ecological Aspects of the Demographic Proﬁle of the Volgograd Region Population

controlled trial. Experimental Gerontology. 128,

110749. DOI: 10.1016/j.exger.2019.110749

Guner, U., Guner, N., (2020). The relationship between

long working hours and weight gain in older workers in

Europe. Work. 67(3), pages 753-759. DOI:

10.3233/WOR-203324

Sevriukova G.A., Khvastunova I.V., Belikova E.O.,

Sevriukova P.L., (2020). The influence of the urban

ecosystem on the quality of life of people over 50. IOP

Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science.

III International Scientific Conference: AGRITECH-

III-2020: Agribusiness, Environmental Engineering

and Biotechnologies, 42001. DOI: 10.1088/1755-

1315/548/4/042001

Stromberg M., (2021). Fitting together the needs of an

aging population. Planning. 87(1), pages 31-33.

Weber D., Loichinger E., (2020). Live longer, retire later?

Developments of healthy life expectancies and working

life expectancies between age 50–59 and age 60–69 in

Europe. European Journal of Ageing. DOI:

10.1007/s10433-020-00592-5

Wind A., Noordt M., Deeg D.J.H., Boot C.R.L., (2018).

Working life expectancy in good and poor self-

perceived health among dutch workers aged 55–65

years with a chronic disease over the period 1992–2016.

Occup Environ Med, 75(11):792–797. DOI:

10.1136/oemed-2018-105243

WFSDS 2021 - INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC FORUM ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC SYSTEMS