Being HIV positive is no longer the death sentence it once was, as life expectancy of those receiving treatment is approaching that of the general population.
Researchers found a 20-year-old HIV-positive adult on antiretroviral therapy (ART) may be expected to live into their early 70s - a life expectancy approaching that of the general U.S. population.
However, life expectancy is lower for people with a history of injecting drugs as well as those who are not white.
(Cell with HIV: Nearly nine million adults worldwide living with HIV receive antiretroviral therapy (ART) which keeps the virus from multiplying by killing the virus in the bloodstream. Researchers found a 20-year-old HIV-positive adult on ART may be expected to live into their early 70's)
The life expectancies of nearly 23,000 individuals on ART - which consists of the combination of at least three antiretroviral drugs to best suppress the HIV virus and stop the progression of HIV disease - were calculated based on mortality rates in the early to mid-2000s.
Participants in the study, by the North American AIDS Cohort Collaboration on Research and Design and the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, were aged 20 years or older.
Men and women had comparable life expectancies in all periods except the last 2006 to 2007 period.
Life expectancy was lower for individuals with a history of injection drug use, those who were non-white, and those who initiated ART with low CD4 count - a count of cells that activate the immune response - compared to those who started at a higher count.
The results of this study suggest increasing longevity for individuals living with HIV in the U.S. and Canada and contribute to the growing evidence that HIV-positive people on ART have life expectancies approaching those in general populations.
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