Question
Will HIV/ARVs shorten my life, regardless?
4 April 2012. Related: All topics, Life expectancy, Living with HIV long-term.
Given all the new drugs available why can’t a newly diagnosed HIV positive person with currently high CD4 and low viral load live as long as someone who is negative, once they start treatment and have good tolerance and adherence? Is the disease and/or medication going to shorten my life, regardless?
Answer
Hello,
Thank-you for you question. It’s not the case that your life will necessarily be shortened by HIV.
According to modeling somebody diagnosed with HIV aged 25 can have a life expectancy virtually the same as somebody who is HIV negative. An observational study of people living with HIV in the Netherlands found that the difference in life expectancy was less that 5 months for somebody diagnosed at 25. For somebody diagnosed at 55 the reduction in life expectancy found from this study was less than 1 1/2 years.
Hi Mike
I think the details will be in the study somewhere, which has free open access for the full paper.
I expect is will be due to the difference between the date of infection rather than dat of diagnosis. So lots of people who are diagnosed when they are 55, may have been infected for many years. This extended period without treatment would be expected to contribute to more health problems later in life.
When talking about infection from sexual exposure, a 25 year old has a shorter time during when then might have been undiagnosed (ie 7 years if they became sexually active at 18). A 55 year old could theoretically have been undiagnosed for 10, 15 or 20 years etc.
This is just a guess…
Hi,
Read this reply with interest, why is the life expentancy in a 55 year old reduced by a greater amount than a 25 year old when they will be infected/on ARV for a lesser time?
thanks.