       Document 0181
 DOCN  M95A0181
 TI    Mortality among HIV-infected intravenous drug addicts in Stockholm in
       relation to methadone treatment.
 DT    9510
 AU    Fugelstad A; Rajs J; Bottiger M; Gerhardsson de Verdier M; Psychiatric
       Dependency Clinic, St Goran's Hospital, Stockholm,; Sweden.
 SO    Addiction. 1995 May;90(5):711-6. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE
       MED/95315846
 AB    The aim of the study was to estimate the mortality rate and evaluate the
       causes of death in all diagnosed HIV-positive IDUs in the Stockholm
       area, 1986-90, and to compare the risk of death of those who received
       methadone treatment with that of those never admitted to or discharged
       from the programme. Data were collected from the Swedish National
       Bacteriological Laboratory, the Methadone Maintenance Programme (MMTP)
       and the Department of Forensic Medicine, as well as from hospitals in
       the Stockholm region. In Sweden 90% of all IDUs are HIV-tested. Most
       deceased IDUs are examined forensically. This examination always
       includes HIV-testing. During the observation period, 472 HIV-infected
       IDUs were reported from the Stockholm area. Of these addicts 135
       participated in the methadone maintenance programme for a shorter or
       longer time during the study period. Most of them had received the
       HIV-diagnosis more than 1 year before first entering the programme.
       Sixty-nine subjects died during the observation period. A majority, 52
       persons, died from violence or poisoning. Seventeen died from somatic
       complications of drug abuse. Nine of them were diagnosed as suffering
       from AIDS. Eight of the deceased had participated in the MMTP. The
       relative risk of death from external violence and poisoning was 0.25
       (95% confidence interval 0.1-1.0) when participants in the MMTP were
       compared with HIV-infected IDUs never attending the programme. When all
       causes of death are compared the relative risk was 0.8. Those patients
       discharged from the programme have a higher mortality rate than those
       who never participated.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
 DE    Adult  *Cause of Death  Comparative Study  *Cross-Cultural Comparison
       Female  Human  HIV Infections/*MORTALITY  Male  Methadone/*THERAPEUTIC
       USE  Middle Age  Overdose/MORTALITY  Patient Discharge/STATISTICS &
       NUMER DATA  Risk Factors  Substance Abuse,
       Intravenous/*MORTALITY/REHABILITATION  Sweden/EPIDEMIOLOGY
       Violence/STATISTICS & NUMER DATA  JOURNAL ARTICLE

       SOURCE: National Library of Medicine.  NOTICE: This material may be
       protected by Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.Code).

