"Methadone Maintenance Programmes and AIDS"

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1989. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

"Methadone Maintenance Programmes and AIDS"

Lancet (12/30/89) Vol. 2, No. 8679, P. 1522
Serraino, Diego, and Franceschi, Silvia

Abstract: The impact of methadone maintenance programs on the incidence of AIDS deserves further attention, write Italian epidemiologists Diego Serraino and Silvia Franceschi, who report on a study of the variations in numbers of AIDS cases among IV drug users in eight regions of northern Italy versus the numbers of addicts attending methadone clinics in each region. Although the researchers write that cause and effect cannot be proven by the correlation, the proportion of IV drug users attending methadone programs corresponded to decreases in the cumulative AIDS rate. The scientists estimate that 40 percent of the variability of AIDS incidence in northern Italy may be explained by participation in such programs. They write that about 80 percent of the reported AIDS cases in Italy up to September 1989 were attributable to IV drug use, necessitating public health efforts directed toward limiting the spread of HIV by treating drug abusers.

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