Question
Please comment on different life expectancy studies
6 February 2010. Related: All topics, Clinical trials, Living with HIV long-term.
I know that this is a contentious issue and one that is on the mind of every HIV + person out there. Although we are continually told by our doctors that life expectancy is
Answer
Thank you for your question.
All studies predicting life expectancy use slightly different models and data sets. Looking at the study in question, there are reasons why the US population that they used may not have the same life expectancy than European groups. In general though all studies point to a 20+ year life expectancy from current treatment.
Most studies show higher and lower life expectancy rates depend on subgroups such as age, race and method of transmission as is also shown in the graphs of the study you mentioned.
If you look at the Table in the US study which looks at this by age, then this give you a personal level than about the same as the discussion with your first doctor.
It is frustrating when different doctors say different things. This is why it is good to get different views to make up your own mind. In this case I think your first doctor was wrong and that there is more evidence to support your second doctors view.
Although the study you have just seen is complicated is doesn
Hi Jason, thanks – good questions. Rather than giving an answer in years, most guideline refer to life expectancy being roughly the same as it would have been before you became HIV positive.
A few studies suggest that HIV might make you live a little longer! This is because you will have a stonger link with healthcare throughout your life. Your routin monitoring for HIV treatment (ART), for example, might mean that other complications are picked up and treated earlier than if you were till HIV negative, but seeing a doctor less often.
Other things that have changes since 2010, include more frequent HIV testing, so that many people are diagnosed earlier. Since 2016, ART is used as soon as you find out you are positive, which reduces the chance HIV will seriously damage your immune system.
Also, modern ART using second-generation integrase inhibitors (dolutegravir or doctegravir) has fewer side effects than earlier HIV meds, so this should also help.
These are all reasons that it is possible to be very optimistic about life expectancy.
As per above answer from Simon Collins in 2010, In general though all studies point to a 20+ year life expectancy from current treatment.
Now it is 2023 so how much difference of life expectancy in terms of years? is there any significant change in life expectancy now as compared to 2010 ?
if yes, how the life expectancy is more now since still we are using the same kind of ARV’s.