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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 6(2)

Changes in mortality following HIV and AIDS and estimation of the number of people living with diagnosed HIV/AIDS in Australia, 1981–2003

Fatemeh Nakhaee A C D , Deborah Black B , Handan Wand A , Ann McDonald A and Matthew Law A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research, University of New South Wales, 376 Victoria Street, Darlinghurst, NSW 2010, Australia.

B Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 1825, Australia.

C Present address: Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Faculty of Health, Haftbagh Highway, Kerman, Iran.

D Corresponding author. Email: fnakhaee@kmu.ac.ir

Sexual Health 6(2) 129-134 https://doi.org/10.1071/SH08007
Submitted: 19 January 2008  Accepted: 5 February 2009   Published: 18 May 2009

Abstract

Objective: To investigate changes in mortality following HIV and AIDS in Australia. Methods: The results of a linkage between HIV/AIDS diagnoses and the National Death Index (NDI) to the end of 2003 were used to estimate mortality rates following HIV/AIDS. Standardised Mortality Ratios (SMRs) were calculated for deaths following HIV, with and without AIDS, in three periods of treatment; before antiretroviral therapy (≤1989), pre- and early-HAART (1990–1996) and HAART (1997–2003). Crude mortality rates were calculated as the number of deaths per 1000 person-years. The total number of people living with HIV/AIDS was estimated. Results: There were 1789 deaths following HIV without AIDS and 6730 deaths after AIDS. For deaths following HIV without AIDS, the SMRs were 2.99, 1.22 and 1.6 during the periods before 1990, 1990–1996 and 1997–2003. For deaths after AIDS the SMRs were 137.84, 28.64 and 4.55 in the periods one to three, respectively. The crude death rate following HIV without AIDS increased from 16.8 before 1986 to 19.6 in 2003. Death rates after AIDS decreased from 958.7 up to 1986 to 60.4 in 2003. The number of new HIV diagnoses increased to 1276 in 1990 then decreased to 780 in 2003, while AIDS diagnoses increased to 950 in 1994 then decreased to 252 in 2003. The total number of people living with HIV was estimated to be 7873 in 1989, and 12828 in 2003. Conclusion: Mortality following AIDS decreased while deaths before AIDS remained low. The number of people living with HIV/AIDS has increased.

Additional keywords: antiretroviral treatment, death, mortality rates.


Acknowledgement

The present study was funded by the National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research and a PhD scholarship (Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran and Iran Ministry of Health). The National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research is funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing, and is affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine, The University of New South Wales. Its work is overseen by the Ministerial Advisory Committee on AIDS, Sexual Health and Hepatitis. The National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research Surveillance Program is a collaborating unit of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. The contribution of state and territory health departments (Communicable Disease Control Program, ACT Department of Health and Community Care, Australian Capital Territory; Area Health Services, NSW Health Department, New South Wales; AIDS/STD Program, Department of Health and Community Services, Northern Territory; Queensland Health, Queensland; Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD) Services, Internal Medicine Service, Royal Adelaide Hospital, South Australia; Department of Community and Health Services, Tasmania; STD/Blood-Borne Virus Program, Department of Human Services, Melbourne, Victoria and The Macfarlane Burnet Institute for Medical Research and Public Health Limited, Victoria; Communicable Diseases Control Branch, Department of Health, Western Australia) and the National Blood Borne Virus and Sexually Transmissible Infections Surveillance Committee to ongoing national surveillance for newly diagnosed HIV infection and AIDS in Australia is gratefully acknowledged.


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