Impact of human immunodeficiency virus infection on mortality among young men and women in Spain.

This paper describes the impact of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) mortality among young adults in Spain with specific reference to other causes of death.... In 1993 HIV/AIDS was the leading cause of death among men aged 25-44 years (21.8% of all deaths) and the second leading cause of death among women (14.9%) exceeded only by cancer. Since 1982 the trend in the overall standardized mortality rate for men in the 25-44 age group has been reversed showing a progressive increase. Similarly since 1984 there has been a halt in the decline in female mortality. For both sexes maintenance of these trends in mortality was largely ascribable to the effect of HIV/AIDS deaths which registered a marked rise a rise far sharper than that witnessed for variations in all other causes studied. (EXCERPT)