[AIDS mortality in France]. / Mortalité par SIDA en France.

ABSTRACT

A study about mortality by AIDS had been undertaken since July 1st 1983, in the Service of Information on Medical causes of Death (INSERM SC8), which is in charge of developing mortality statistics in France. From July 1st 1983 to September 30th 1985, 243 deaths due to AIDS were recorded. Only the cases where this diagnosis was clearly mentioned were selected; more than 90% were notified by hospitals and mainly by highly specialized services. The number of deaths, which was low and varied rather irregularly at the beginning, then increased by successive stages. The first year, during which a tenth of deaths was recorded every three months, was followed by a great increase, doubling, then tripling the initial numbers. Lastly, a second and sudden rise occurred during the third trimester of 1985, the trimestrial number of deaths due to AIDS reaching 80.