CAUSES OF DEATHS AMONG HIV-INFECTED PERSONS IN THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION IN 2008-2018

Objective. To study the causes of deaths among HIV-infected persons in the Russian Federation in 2008-2018. Materials and methods. A special questionnaire including ICD-10 codes for the causes of death was developed. The causes of deaths in the past 10 years were analyzed; trends in the rates were traced every 5 years: in 2008, 2013, and 2018. Results. The number of deaths due to HIV infection increased by 2.2 times over 10 years (2008-2018), as well as that from secondary diseases rose by 3.7 times. The proportion of deaths from HIV-related disease increased from 29.4% in 2008 to 48.6% in 2018. The main cause of deaths in HIV-infected patients was tuberculosis usually at multiple sites. There was a 2.1-fold increase in the number of these patients. The other secondary diseases that were direct causes of death from HIV infection were pneumocystis pneumonia, cancer, cerebral toxoplasmosis, recurrent pneumonia, candidiasis, and cytomegalovirus infection. The diseases that are unrelated to B20-B24 and cause deaths include cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and the outcomes of chronic hepatitis B and C. There was a 1.7-fold rise in the absolute number of these patients from 2008 to 2018. Conclusion. The rate of deaths from secondary diseases, primarily due to generalized tuberculosis, is on the rise. There is a 4.6-fold increase in the number of cancer-related deaths. The causes of deaths were unrecognized secondary diseases (18.6%) and HIV wasting syndrome in 2018. Among the deaths from causes unrelated to the criteria of AIDS, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and end-stage chronic viral hepatitis increased by 3.8, 4.2, and 41%, respectively.

HIV infection, deaths from causes related and unrelated to HIV