Life Expectancy Increase

An individual who tests positive for HIV and begins antiretoviral (ARV) therapy can be expected to live, on average, to be 69 years old. This increase in age and life expectancy has increased 37 percent for those who start ARV in the early years of their treatment process. Many HIV positive people have asked their health care providers about their life expectancy, and this study will attempt to successfully answer the question for patients.

Studies have been taken from 43,000 patients in the United States, Canada, and other European countries to determine the life expectancy for HIV positive individuals. They were then divided into groups by when they began their ARV treatment. There were over 18,000 who began between 1996 and 1999, almost 14,000 who began between 2000 and 2002, and over 10,000 who stated treatment between 2003 and 2005.

The researchers used the example of a 20 year old with HIV. If they began ARV treatment between 1996 and 1999, they could be expected to live to the age of 56. This was also during the beginning of ARV therapy. This age has increased dramatically. For a 20 year old who began ARV treatment between 2003 and 2005, they are expected to live until the age of 69, which is a 13 year increase. The life expectancy of a 20 year old who is HIV negative is to live to be 80 years old.

For HIV positive people who only began ARV treatment because they CD4 cells were below 100 were expected to live 10 years less than those who began therapy when their CD4 cells were above 200. The researchers also found that HIV positive individuals who had a history of injection drugs were also expected to live 10 years less than those who never used injection drugs.

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