Highly active antiretroviral therapy and socioeconomic inequalities in AIDS mortality in Spain

Abstract

Sir In a recent paper, Borrell et al .1 document the change in AIDS mortality following the introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in Spain. Because access to HAART is free under Spain's National Health Service, the authors hypothesized that the introduction of HAART would narrow existing socioeconomic (SES) inequalities in AIDS mortality. They compare the ratio of age-adjusted mortality rates among lower and higher socioeconomic groups over time and, based on the increases in the ratio over time among men and women, conclude that …