Mass. Residents Living Longer, Fewer Dying of AIDS

A new report from the state Public Health Department shows that Massachusetts residents are living longer and that deaths from AIDS - along with mortalities due to cancer, heart disease, stroke, influenza, pneumonia, and chronic lower respiratory disease - all dropped between 2000 and 2009.

The improvements may be due to prevention, early detection, and better treatment, the report says. The 124 AIDS deaths logged in the state in 2009 represented the lowest figure since the peak year of 1994, when the disease claimed nearly 1,000 people. Three-quarters of those dying of AIDS were age 45 or older, suggesting that patients are living longer. Life expectancy in Massachusetts was 80.7 years in 2009, up 2.2 years from 2000; the US average is 78.5 years.

However, the study also found that the state’s suicide rate has increased every year since 2000. In addition, poisoning deaths, chiefly from overdoses of opioids, were up by 5 percent since 2000.

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.

TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!