Top 3 diseases among St. Petersburg homeless

From June 2024 to June 2025, 891 homeless individuals sought care at the charity clinic on Baltiyskaya Street, 36. Among them were 195 women and 696 men.

Doctors recorded a total of 1,891 diagnoses. Of the patients, 548 (66.2%) had at least two conditions requiring monitoring and treatment. Simultaneously, 61 patients had four illnesses, and 51 had five or more.

The most common disease groups were:

“In 2022, together with colleagues from the Institute of Bioinformatics, we conducted a study on the prevalence of diseases among homeless people. Overall, the epidemiological picture has not changed dramatically over two and a half years. We have started diagnosing infectious and parasitic diseases, mental disorders, and eye diseases more frequently, but this is due to improved diagnostic conditions,” commented Sergei Ievkov, head of the Charity Hospital.

The organization was founded in 2018, and its inpatient clinic began operating in autumn 2023. Before that, volunteers and staff provided medical care on the streets of St. Petersburg and in a specially equipped bus.

The opening of its own facility expanded diagnostic capabilities: now it conducts laboratory tests, regular infection testing, specialist consultations, and also prepares documents for medical and social examination.

According to the study, the most common age group among patients is 45–59 years, making up 41.5% of patients. The 25–44 age group accounts for 31.3%, and patients aged 60–74 constitute 22%.

The analysis was carried out under the project “Accessible Medical Care for Homeless People in St. Petersburg,” which is being implemented with support from the Presidential Grants Fund.