AIDS AS A LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH AMONG YOUNG-ADULTS IN ITALY

The objective of this study is to describe the impact of AIDS on the m ortality of young adult (aged 25 to 44 years) in Italy, at both the na tional and regional level. We analyzed the official mortality data for Italy: the most recent data available being from 1990. General mortal ity trends show that while mortality among young women is still decrea sing (i.e. from a standardized rate of 83.8 per 100,000 in 1980 to 68. 4 in 1990), mortality among young men began to rise in the mid-1980s, after a steady decrease over many years. Among the 25-34 year olds, ho wever, this reversal in trend is more marked, notwithstanding a decrea se or stabilization in most major causes of death. In fact it coincide s with the appearance and spread of AIDS in Italy, which has affected young men in particular. (The peak age group for AIDS deaths is the 25 -34 year olds). Mortality data from 1990 reveal that AIDS is the fourt h leading cause of death in Italy among men between the ages of 25 and 44 years. Among 25-34 year-old men, however, AIDS is the second leadi ng cause of death, after road accidents. AIDS also contributes greatly to the general mortality in individual regions, both among 25-44 year -old men (Lombardy, Liguria, Lazio, Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany), and espe cially among 25-34 year-old men (Lombardy, Liguria, Lazio, Sardinia, w here it is the number one cause of death, Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany, and Veneto, where it is the number two cause of death).