AIDS' RANKING AS CAUSE OF DEATH ADVANCES DRAMATICALLY, DATA SHOW.

Byline: The New York Times

AIDS has become the third leading cause of death among American women 25 to 44 years of age, and the leading cause among white men in that age group, federal health officials said Thursday.

The number of deaths caused by AIDS continued to increase for 25- to 44-year-old men and women of every race, but three groups in particular reported large increases in 1994, the year covered by the new statistics. There was a 30 percent increase in deaths from AIDS among white women, a 28 percent increase among black women and a 13 percent increase among black men.

AIDS caused at least one of every three deaths among black men 25 to 44 years of age, and one of five deaths in black women in the same age group, said Dr. John Ward of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, which issued the report.

Infection with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, among minorities and women is often linked to the use of illicit drugs or to sexual intercourse with infected drug abusers. Mark Barnes, director of the AIDS Action Council in Washington, which represents AIDS groups, says drug use impairs a person's ability to make judgments about having sex and taking precautions.

In addition, the desire for drugs leads both men and women to trade sex for drugs, as well as to share needles for injecting drugs.

The report said that 41,930 deaths from AIDS were reported in the United States in 1994, an increase of 9 percent from the previous year. But the report also said that because the statistics came from death certificates, where AIDS is underreported, the actual figures are probably significantly higher, perhaps by as much as 30 percent.

The number of deaths from AIDS has continued to increase since the epidemic was first reported 15 years ago, and has gradually overshadowed other causes of death among young to middle-age people.

Since 1993, AIDS has been the leading cause of death among Americans 25 to 44 years of age, the CDC report said. And it is the third leading cause of death among women in that age group, behind cancer and injuries.

Ward said that death rates for AIDS are only one way to measure the epidemic. Another measure is the number of people in which AIDS has been diagnosed, and in 1994 that figure was 63,000.

The measure that gives the most up-to-date measure of the continuing spread of HIV is the number of new infections. That is now estimated at 40,000 to 80,000 a year.

Barnes said in an interview that the increasing numbers of infections and deaths among blacks, Hispanic Americans and women has long been established, and will probably get worse as Congress cuts money for AIDS research and prevention.