[The impact of AIDS on mortality in Italy]

Using the official mortality data, collected by ISTAT, and the data of the Italian Register of AIDS cases, in Istituto Superiore di Sanità, three arguments have been developed: 1) Study of causes according to which ISTAT could classify deaths from AIDS: the leading cause appears to be "Deficit of Cell Immunity" (I.C.D. 279.1). 2) Study of the under-estimation of official data with respect to those of the specific system. Under-estimation decreased over the years, reaching 20% in 1987 and 6% in 1988. 3) Analysis of the general mortality trend in all of Italy and in particular metropolitan areas, with a high concentration of cases, such as Rome and Milan; there is evidence of a possible influence of AIDS deaths on mortality of young age classes particularly notable among single males.