Facts About Hiv: Life Expectancy And Long
Overview
The outlook for people living with HIV has significantly improved over the past two decades. Many people who are HIV-positive can now live much longer, healthier lives when regularly taking antiretroviral treatment.
Kaiser Permanente researchers found that the life expectancy for people living with HIV and receiving treatment increased significantly from 1996 on. Since that year, new antiretroviral drugs have been developed and added to the existing antiretroviral therapy. This has resulted in a highly effective HIV treatment regimen.
In 1996, the total life expectancy for a 20-year-old person with HIV was 39 years. In 2011, the total life expectancy bumped up to about 70 years.
The survival rate for HIV-positive people has also dramatically improved since the first days of the HIV epidemic. For example,
, a person with undetectable levels of HIV in their blood isnt able to transmit the virus to a partner during sex.
Between 2010 and 2014, the annual number of new HIV infections in the United States fell by
Comorbidities And Healthy Aging
Because modern-day HIV medications are highly effective and well-tolerated, interventions that improve the life expectancies of people living with HIV will need to address other health conditions that may affect people living with HIV at a disproportionate rate or more severely.
Improving the health of people growing older with HIV is a critical priority, said Harris, Rabkin and El-Sadr, in an editorial published in AIDS. Older adults living with HIV may experience more severe side effects of antiretroviral medications, higher risk of kidney disease, declines in bone mineral density, peripheral neuropathy and cardiovascular disease. An estimated 6.9 million people living with HIV will be over age 50 by the year 2020.
The greying of the epidemic raises important questions regarding understanding the effect of aging on people living with HIV, the effect of HIV infection on the aging process, and optimal approaches to HIV prevention among older adults, said Harris and colleagues.
Harris, T. G., Rabkin, M. and El-Sadrr, W. M. Achieving the fourth 90: healthy aging for people living with HIV. AIDS, 2018.
Mum Floored By Shock Hiv Diagnosis After 30 Years Of Symptoms: My Reaction Was Awful
Vanessa was diagnosed with HIV in 2014. Inset Picture Credit: BBC
Patricia Murphy
A British mother has spoken about the life-altering moment doctors told her she was HIV Positive, which had remained undiagnosed for more than 30 years.
Vanessa Roberts was diagnosed with the virus in 2014, after battling the infections symptoms for three decades during which she was married twice and gave birth to two children.
The mum-of-two from Oxford in England discovered she was HIV Positive after a chance blood test, carried out in a Sexual Health Clinic where she had visited to treat oral thrush.
Over 25 years these symptoms continued until I found out what the cause was, Vanessa told The Ryan Tubridy Show on RTE Radio 1.
Infections, chest infections, ear infections, lots of niggly things, persistent coughs, veruccas on my feet, strange oral thrush in my mouth.
I went many times to see my doctor and various doctors over the years and asked if there was something underlying wrong with me and I asked why I kept getting this and I was told Oh no, some people just get it.
It was as if they treated each individual thing but they didnt look at the whole picture really.
I was worried there might be something seriously wrong with me
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Life Expectancy For People With Hiv Continues To Improve
Gay men with HIV can now expect to live as long as the average American, though non-white patients still lag far behind.
As people with HIV age, they find themselves subject to the same issues that face healthier senior citizens.
Earlier this year, researchers at Georgetown University announced that a 71-year-old man was the first HIV patient to be diagnosed with Alzheimers disease.
That claim was challenged by Dr. Victor Valcour, associate professor of geriatric medicine in the department of neurology at the University of California, San Francisco, and co-director of the International NeuroHIV Cure Consortium. He said his team diagnosed an HIV patient with Alzheimers in 2008.
Whoever is correct, the point is clear: HIV used to be a death sentence. Now those that have it are likely get other diseases.
A Georgetown researcher clarified the importance of this discovery. The patient could change what researchers know about HIV and dementia, namely how some patients may be misdiagnosed with HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders when they may be developing Alzheimers disease, or both.
According to Dr. R. Scott Turner, a neurologist at Georgetown, Chronic HIV infection and amyloid deposition with aging may represent a double-hit to the brain that results in progressive dementia.
Its crucial to distinguish because the two conditions are treated with different drugs.
Can We Improve Le Further
Late HIV diagnosis remains extremely common in many countries , and has been reported to be a major risk factor for mortality . In Brazil, it was estimated that 95.5% of deaths occurring in the first year after diagnosis were attributable to late diagnosis study investigators estimated that averting late diagnosis would have reduced the AIDS mortality rate 2003 to 2006 by 39.5%, a similar reduction to that produced by cART. In the UK, earlier diagnosis would have reduced short-term mortality by 84% in MSM and by 56% in those infected heterosexually . Using the HIV Synthesis model, a stochastic computer simulation model of HIV progression, Nakagawa showed that LE from birth was 71.5 years, with 10.5 years lost to HIV infection, in a scenario in which diagnosis occurred at a late stage of HIV infection , but under a scenario of earlier diagnosis , LE from birth was 75.0 years, with only 7.0 years lost, on average, due to HIV. Thus, earlier diagnosis of HIV might go some way to improve LE further.
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Health Issues And Aging With Hiv
People aging with HIV share many of the same health concerns as the general population aged 50 and older: multiple chronic diseases or conditions, the use of multiple medications, changes in physical and cognitive abilities, and increased vulnerability to stressors. In addition, while effective HIV treatment has decreased the likelihood of AIDS-defining illnesses among people aging with HIV, many HIV-associated non-AIDS conditions occur frequently in older persons with HIV, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, renal disease, and cancer. These conditions are likely related to a number of interacting factors, including chronic inflammation caused by HIV. Researchers are working to better understand what causes chronic inflammation, even when people are being treated with ART.
HIV and its treatment can also have effects on the brain. Researchers estimate that between 25 and 50% of people with HIV have HIV-Associated Neurocognitive Disorder , a spectrum of cognitive, motor, and/or mood disorders categorized into three levels: asymptomatic, mild, and HIV-associated dementia. Researchers are studying how HIV and its treatment affect the brain, including the effects on older people living with HIV.
HIV Long-Term Survivors Awareness Day
Years With Hiv: 3 Men Reflect
Saundra YoungSTORY HIGHLIGHTS
- In the early days of HIV/AIDS, there were no treatments and patients died quickly
- Today, with the development of antiretroviral drugs, people in the U.S. are living decades
- A small number of long-term survivors are now middle-aged
- Survivors Phill Wilson, Jim Chud and Cleve Jones share how living with HIV has changed
— June 5, 1981. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued its first warning about a rare pneumonia called pneumocystis circulating among a small group of young gay men.
Unrealized at the time, it was the official beginning of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
Dr. Michael Gottlieb, then a 33-year-old immunologist at the University of California Los Angeles, treated one of the first patients, a 31-year-old gay male with pneumocystis.
“In those days patients were essentially given a terminal diagnosis,” Gottlieb says. “We had no medication whatsoever. At the very beginning we did not even know it was viral infection.”
In 1982, the CDC coined the term AIDS, for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, but the cause was still unknown. In 1983, the virus was finally isolated and given a name: Human Immunodeficiency Virus or HIV.
At that time there were no treatments. Patients died quickly. Today, with the development of antiretroviral drugs and a much greater understanding of the disease, people who contract HIV in the United States are living decades.
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Despite Medical Advances People With Hiv Still Live Shorter Sicker Lives
HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, June 18, 2020 — HIV may not be the death sentence it was 20 or 30 years ago, but people who are HIV-positive still face much shorter lives than other adults — even if they’re treated with medications that make the virus undetectable.
A new study reports that people who were HIV-positive at age 21 had an average life expectancy of 56 years — nine years fewer than their virus-free peers.
The likely reason: a weaker immune system and a greater risk for other chronic health issues, even when HIV is kept in check.
“Our findings suggest that people with HIV who initiate treatment early are approaching the same lifespan as people without HIV, but that we need to be paying closer attention to preventing comorbidities among people with HIV,” said lead author Dr. Julia Marcus, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School in Boston.
When antiretroviral therapy — or HAART — was introduced for HIV treatment in 1996, it was a game-changer.
Taken daily, the medications can suppress the virus to undetectable levels, keeping patients healthy and eliminating the risk of sexual transmission. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends starting HAART immediately after an HIV diagnosis.
To find out, they reviewed disease and death histories drawn from Kaiser Permanente records for nearly 430,000 people between 2000 and 2016. About 39,000 were HIV-positive, and nearly nine in 10 of these patients were male .
JAMA Network Open
Dealing With Feelings Of Blame
Sometimes when people find out theyre HIV positive they want to blame someone. These feelings are completely natural and understandable.
Some young people might be tempted to stop taking their medication or seeing their doctor in order to stop thinking about their HIV. This is very dangerous and very likely to result in serious health problems.
If you find HIV too difficult to deal with, you can contact THT Direct on 0808 802 1221.
You can also get in touch with Body and Soul in London or CHIVA nationwide. They provide services to children, teenagers, young people and their families if someone in the family is living with HIV. This included support groups especially for children and young people.
If you find youre struggling with any aspect of living with HIV, please ask for help. Theres lots of support out there.
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Funding For Hiv In Thailand
In 2018, around 90% of Thailands HIV response was funded domestically, with PEPFAR and the Global Fund to Fights AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria contributing about 6% and 5%, respectively, mainly to support HIV prevention for key populations, strategic information, and health system strengthening.112
In 2017, 77% of domestic funding was spent on HIV treatment and care, 13% was spent on preventing HIV and 7% was spent on social protection services. 113
Funding from international donors continues to fall. Particularly important in this regard is funding from the Global Fund, which dropped from US $39 million in 2014 to US $13.1 million in 2018 and US $12.8 million in 2019. A total of US $11.7 million is allocated for 2020.114
Still Searching For A Cure
There is still no cure for HIV.
With viral diseases, that cure often takes the form of a vaccine. But with HIV, the quest for such a vaccine has been a 30-year journey.
In a report published last year in Science, researchers from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases took a look back at three decades of research and action into an HIV vaccine.
Although the AIDS epidemic is often associated with the 1980s and early 1990s, AIDS and HIV are still very much a part of many lives in the United States and around the world.
Editors Note: This story was originally published on December 18, 2013 and was updated by Roberta Alexander on August 8, 2016.
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I Hadnt Had Sex For Over 14 Years How Could I Be Hiv Positive
Mandy Webb, 42, was horrified when she was diagnosed HIV positive, especially as she hadnt had sex for over a decade.
Mandy Webb, 42, was horrified when she was diagnosed HIV positive, especially as she hadnt had sex for over a decade. Now, with the 21st World Aids Day on Monday, she wants everyone to learn from her story.
With her shock of pink hair, Mandy Webb is no shrinking violet and thats the point.
After being diagnosed with HIV six years ago, the mum-of-one is determined to stand out and highlight that anyone can fall victim to the disease.
She says: Im living proof that HIV doesnt just affect gay men and drug users a one-night stand can have lasting consequences.
Mandy first noticed something was wrong back in 1990, when her son, Ben*, was two. She says: I kept getting bruises but I put it down to having an active two-year-old. I frequently knocked myself carrying Ben, the shopping and pushchair up and down stairs.
She went to her GP for blood tests and the results showed Mandys platelets (which
help the blood to clot) were dangerously low, meaning she risked bleeding to death.
They couldnt find a cause for the problem but she was put on steroids to help her blood clot. However the drugs made her weight balloon.
In 1991, doctors offered Mandy another option to have her spleen removed and be given injections of factor Vlll to help her blood to clot.
While Ben was little, I didnt want the complication of bringing a man into his life, says Mandy.
How Does Hiv Treatment And An Undetectable Viral Load Work To Prevent Hiv Transmission
HIV treatment, also called antiretroviral therapy , works by controlling the replication of HIV in the body that is, it reduces HIVs ability to make copies of itself. When HIV replication is controlled, the amount of virus in the blood and other bodily fluids decreases. Research tells us that as the amount of virus in the body decreases, so does the risk of HIV transmission. When successful treatment lowers the viral load to undetectable levels, this can reduce or even eliminate the risk of HIV transmission.
HIV treatment usually consists of a combination of three antiretroviral drugs taken daily. Newer HIV treatments are safer, simpler and more effective than when treatment was first introduced. The power of treatment today is so profound that many people who start effective treatment soon after becoming HIV positive will have a near-normal lifespan.
For most people the virus becomes so well controlled that within three to six months of starting treatment the amount of virus in their blood becomes undetectable by routinely used tests. Most viral load tests used in Canada cannot detect HIV in the blood if there are fewer than 40 to 50 copies/ml of the virus but some newer tests can detect as few as 20 copies/ml. The virus is still present in very low amounts in the body when the viral load is undetectable.
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How Well Does The Use Of Hiv Treatment To Maintain An Undetectable Viral Load Prevent Hiv Transmission To A Baby During Pregnancy And Birth
Without treatment, there is a 15% to 30% chance that a baby born to a person living with HIV will get HIV during pregnancy or delivery. Taking HIV treatment is the most effective way to reduce transmission to the baby. In fact, research has shown that if a pregnant person starts HIV treatment before conception and maintains an undetectable viral load throughout pregnancy and delivery, they do not transmit HIV to their baby. A short course of HIV medications is also given to the infant to prevent HIV transmission.
For the last three decades, a growing body of evidence has shown that babies are much less likely to be born with HIV if the pregnant parent is on treatment. A study of the French Perinatal Cohort, conducted between 2000 and 2011, is the largest study to show the impact of treatment on preventing HIV transmission to a newborn. This study found that no HIV transmissions occurred among 2,651 infants born to cisgender women who were on treatment before they conceived and throughout their pregnancy, who had an undetectable viral load at delivery and who did not breastfeed.
What Cdc Is Doing
CDC is pursuing a high-impact prevention approach to maximize the effectiveness of current HIV prevention interventions and strategies. Funding state, territorial, and local health departments and community-based organizations to develop and implement tailored programs is CDCs largest investment in HIV prevention. This includes longstanding successful programs and new efforts funded through the Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S. initiative. In addition to funding health departments and CBOs, CDC is also strengthening the HIV prevention workforce and developing HIV communication resources for consumers and health care providers.
- Under the new integrated HIV surveillance and prevention cooperative agreement, CDC awarded around $400 million per year to health departments for HIV data collection and prevention efforts. This award directs resources to the populations and geographic areas of greatest need, while supporting core HIV surveillance and prevention efforts across the US.
- In 2019, CDC awarded $12 million to support the development of state and local Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S. plans in 57 of the nations priority areas. To further enhance capacity building efforts, CDC uses HIV prevention resources to fund the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors $1.5 million per year to support strategic partnerships, community engagement, peer-to-peer technical assistance, and planning efforts.
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