SUMMARY

Suicidal acts seem to be more frequent in AIDS patients than in the general population: nevertheless, the interpretation of these findings remains uncertain, because an increased risk of suicide has been found in some groups at risk of HIV infection (homosexuals, i.v. drug users) irrespective of the presence of HIV infection. The lack of adequate registration of causes of death in mortality statistics, the difficulty of identifying AIDS cases, and the lack of appropriate reference popula-tions in the majority of register-based studies and post-mortem investigations are the main methodological problems in this research area