title: A multicentre study on the causes of death among Italian injecting drug users. AIDS has overtaken overdose as the principal cause of death.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Clinica Medica, University of Verona, Italy. mezzelani@cmib.univr.it
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mezzelani
authors.forename: G L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Quaglio
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Venturini
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lugoboni
authors.forename: S R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Friedman
authors.forename: D C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Des Jarlais
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000401:mortality*; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002423:Cause of Death; D062787:Drug Overdose / Q000401:mortality*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous / Q000401:mortality*