Study confirms reduced mortality in Malawi after introduction of antiretroviral therapy

A study published today in The Lancet shows evidence of reversal in population-level effect of HIV on adult mortality.

Jahn et al. 2008. Population-level effect of HIV on adult mortality and early evidence of reversal after introduction of antiretroviral therapy in Malawi [1]. The Lancet 371, 1603-1611. DOI:10.1016/S0140-6736(08)60693-5 [2]

From the abstract:

Our findings of a reduction in mortality in adults aged between 15 and 59 years, with no change in those older than 60 years, suggests that deaths from AIDS were averted by the rapid scale-up of free antiretroviral therapy in rural Malawi, which led to a decline in adult mortality that was detectable at the population level.