Background:

The multicenter national Mortalité 2005 survey aimed at describing the distribution of causes of death among HIV-infected adults in France in 2005 and its changes as compared with 2000.

Methods:

Physicians involved in the management of HIV infection notified deaths and documented the causes using a standardized questionnaire similar to the previous survey performed in 2000.

Results:

Overall, 1042 deaths were notified in 2005 (vs 964 in 2000): with median age, 46 years (vs 41 years); men, 76%; and median last CD4 cell count, 161/mm 3 (vs 94). The proportion of underlying causes of death due to AIDS decreased (36% in 2005 vs 47% in 2000), and the proportion of cancer not related to AIDS or hepatitis (17% vs 11%), liver related disease (15% vs 13%: hepatitis C, 11%, and hepatitis B, 2%), cardiovascular disease (8% vs 7%), or suicide (5% vs 4%) increased. Among the 375 AIDS-related deaths, the most frequent event was non-Hodgkin lymphoma (28%). Among cancers not related to AIDS or hepatitis, the most frequent localizations were lung (31%) and digestive tract (14%). Among the 154 liver-related deaths, 24% were due to hepatocarcinoma.

Conclusions:

The heterogeneity of causes of death among HIV-infected adults was confirmed and intensified in 2005, with 3 causes following AIDS: cancers and liver-related and cardiovascular diseases.