Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people have died from AIDS-related illnesses in the UK in each of the last ten years for which figures are available.
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have, therefore, asked the Authority to respond.
Professor Sir Ian Diamond | National Statistician
The Lord Black of Brentwood
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW
18 May 2021
Dear Lord Black,
As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am replying to your Parliamentary Question asking how many people have died from AIDS-related illnesses in the UK in each of the last ten years for which figures are available (HL138).
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is responsible for publishing statistics on deaths registered in England and Wales. National Records Scotland (NRS) and Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) are responsible for publishing the number of deaths registered in Scotland and Northern Ireland respectively. Mortality statistics are compiled from information supplied when deaths are certified and registered as part of civil registration.
Cause of death is defined using the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th edition (ICD-10). Deaths where the underlying cause was Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) are defined by the ICD-10 codes B20 to B24.
Table 1 provides the number of deaths, in England and Wales, where HIV was either mentioned on the death certificate as a factor that contributed to the death or was the underlying cause of death. Figures are provided for deaths registered in 2010 to 2019, the latest available 10-year period of finalised mortality data.
Please note that ONS mortality statistics are based on the cause of death that was reported by the doctor or coroner when they certified the death. More information on the process of death certification and cause of death coding is available in the User guide to mortality statistics[1]. Public Health England publish an alternative source of data on HIV deaths[2], which is based on a specialised database of HIV diagnosis, AIDS, and deaths data.
Yours sincerely,
Professor Sir Ian Diamond
Table 1: Number of deaths with ICD-10 codes related to Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) mentioned on the death certificate, England and Wales, deaths registered in 2010 to 2019[3][4][5][6]
Year | Deaths “involving” HIV | of which, deaths “due to” HIV |
2010 | 320 | 248 |
2011 | 258 | 192 |
2012 | 278 | 209 |
2013 | 275 | 208 |
2014 | 308 | 159 |
2015 | 308 | 171 |
2016 | 299 | 156 |
2017 | 297 | 162 |
2018 | 292 | 139 |
2019 | 276 | 124 |
Source: ONS
[1]https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/methodologies/userguidetomortalitystatisticsjuly2017
[2]https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hiv-annual-data-tables
[3]Figures are for deaths registered, rather than deaths occurring in each calendar year.
[4]Deaths include non-residents.
[5]The International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Edition (ICD-10) definitions are as follows: Human Immunodeficiency Virus (B20-B24).
[6]Deaths "involving" a cause refer to deaths that had this cause mentioned anywhere on the death certificate, whether as an underlying cause or not. Deaths "due to" a cause refer only to deaths that had this as the underlying cause of death.