2016-04-25T17:03:01
Life-Expectancy Gap Narrowing for HIV-Infected vs. Noninfected
Studies have shown that the survival gap between HIV-infected persons receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) and noninfected persons has narrowed in recent years. However, the characteristics of the control groups for such comparisons often were not ideal.
Investigators have now analyzed data for 25, 768 HIV-infected and 257, 600 uninfected individuals (matched 1:10 by age, gender, medical center, and initial year of follow-up) in a large healthcare system to compare life expectancies between the two groups. The mean age of all individuals was 40, and 90% were men. The HIV-infected population more frequently had a history of smoking (45% vs. 31%), drug or alcohol abuse (21% vs. 9%), and hepatitis B or C infection (12% vs. 2%). For the HIV-positive population, the mean CD4 count was 410 cells/mm3.
In 1996–1997, overall life expectancy at age 20 was 44.3 years shorter for HIV-infected persons versus noninfected controls. By 2011, the life-expectancy gap for HIV-infected persons at age 20 narrowed to 11.8 years, and for HIV-infected persons beginning ART at a CD4 count ≥500 cells/mm3, the gap narrowed to 7.9 years. For an idealized population of HIV-infected persons receiving early treatment who did not smoke, did not abuse drugs or alcohol, and did not have hepatitis B or C, the gap narrowed further to 5.7 years.