It was acknowledged that one out of four cases of mental illness was due to mental retardation. Russia, the Ukraine, Lithuania, and Moldavia again reported the highest rates of mental illness (127-152/100,000 pop.) as compared to the union average (123/100,000). Moldavia reported 13 percent higher rates than the union average of 105 mentally ill/100,000 population; Lithuania-25 percent higher rates, and the Ukraine-31 percent (Vestnik Statistiki 1991). The rate of infectious diseases in the Soviet Union had increased dramatically, and the Asian Republics of Uzbekistan, Kyrgistan, and Turkmenistan were faced with the difficulty of controlling the spread of tuberculosis due to crowded housing, poor nutrition and sanitation, and lack of medications. Deaths from cancer between 1985-1990 increased significantly from 6-18 percent above the union average in the Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Estonia, comprising between 22-33 percent of total morbidity.