Mezzelani P, Quaglio G L, Venturini L, Lugoboni F, Friedman S R, Des Jarlais D C
Institute of Clinica Medica, University of Verona, Italy.
AIDS Care. 1998 Feb;10(1):61-7. doi: 10.1080/713612356.
The causes of death among injecting drug users. (IDUs) are still being discussed worldwide. We analysed the causes of death among IDUs attending 26 centres for drug users in North-Eastern Italy from 1985 to 1994. The study of a total number of 1,022 deaths reveals the following: (1) AIDS has become the primary cause of death among IDUs since 1991 and is rising even in an area with a moderate HIV seroprevalence; (2) the mean age of death in AIDS patients proved higher than among patients who died of other causes (which may be due to the long incubation period of AIDS); (3) our data do not reveal higher HIV seroprevalence among IDUs who died of overdose and suicide as opposed to IDUs who died of other causes; (4) the mortality rate in IDUs is significantly higher when compared to that of the general population in the same age group.
