Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 16, 1993                   TAG: 9306160197
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: CHICAGO                                LENGTH: Medium

AIDS BECOMES LEADING KILLER IN MANY CITIES

In an analysis of 1990 mortality data, they found that AIDS and illnesses related to HIV, the virus that causes it, were the No. 1 killer of young men in five states and 64 cities nationwide. In some cities, more than half of young men's deaths were AIDS-related.

Virginia cities where AIDS was the leading cause of death for men between age 25 and 44 were Alexandria, where it accounted for 30 percent of deaths; Arlington, 38 percent; Hampton, 24 percent; and Norfolk, 22 percent.

Among young women, AIDS and illnesses related to human immunodeficiency virus were the leading killer in nine cities, according to the report in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association.

"Although [AIDS] deaths among young adults made up only 7 percent of U.S. deaths from all causes in 1990, they are disproportionately disruptive to society," wrote Dr. Richard Selik and colleagues at the national Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta.

"Adolescent and young-adult HIV transmission guarantees the continuation of the AIDS-HIV epidemic, barring a substantially expanded national prevention effort," wrote Dr. Sten Vermund of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md.

"The health crisis of AIDS-HIV is of immense significance in the United States and will remain so beyond this millennium."

Selik and colleagues analyzed underlying causes of death for adults ages 25 to 44 by using data prepared by the National Center for Health Statistics. They found 18,748 deaths nationwide in 1990. Most were caused by AIDS, but a few were caused by HIV-related infections that had not yet progressed to AIDS.

Nationally, AIDS and related infections were the second-leading cause of death among young men, behind unintentional injuries; and sixth among young women, after cancer, unintentional injury, heart disease, suicide and homicide.

AIDS and related infections were the leading cause of death among young men in California, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York. They also caused 61 percent of the deaths among young men in San Francisco and more than half of the deaths of young men in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Elizabeth, N.J.

Among women, AIDS wasn't the leading cause of death in any state but was the major killer in New Haven and Stamford, Conn.; Miami and Fort Lauderdale, Fla; Baltimore; Jersey City, Newark and Paterson, N.J.; and New York City.

Figures from 1990 are the most recent available, but epidemiologist Susan Chu, a contributing author, said the numbers likely have increased since then.

"Because HIV has such a long latent period, the deaths are going to continue to rise," Chu said in a telephone interview.