Life expectancy is an indicator of key population health
According to a study by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), HIV-infected youth will have a 10.4-year reduction in life expectancy for men and 11.8 years less for women compared to HIV-free individuals. MGH is one of the founding members of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system.
The study, published in The Journal, also reports that strict adherence to HIV care throughout the lifespan can significantly increase life expectancy, and that for some HIV-infected adolescents, interventions that focus on structural and social factors, such as poverty and housing, may also lead to improvements.
"The U.S. has made tremendous progress in ending the HIV epidemic in recent years, and our research shows that HIV care is especially effective if individuals have timely access to treatment and remain engaged throughout their lives," said Anne Neilan, Ph.D., lead author of the study and a physician researcher in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital.
"For young people infected with HIV in their teenage years, the lower life expectancy due to HIV may be more related to other causes of mortality compared to HIV, as current treatments are so effective."
In the United States, nearly 46,000 people between the ages of 13 and 24 are infected with HIV, which can damage the immune system and make the body more susceptible to infections and certain cancers.
In their study, the MGH researchers looked at two groups of youth: one who were infected with HIV at birth (perinatal); Another group of people who were infected with HIV during the adolescent (non-perinatal period).
They used mathematical simulation modeling and U.S. National Adolescent Clinical Data to show that the loss of life expectancy in HIV-infected youth at birth was 10.4 years for boys and young men, and 11.8 years for girls and young women, respectively, compared to HIV-free youth.
For young people infected with HIV during their teenage years, the loss of life expectancy is even higher: 15.0 years for boys and young men, and 19.5 years for girls and young women.
The study also showed that with optimal HIV care, the loss of life expectancy in HIV-infected youth at birth was expected to be significantly improved (0.5 years for boys and young men and 0.6 years for girls and young women).
For young people infected with HIV during their teenage years, life expectancy loss with ideal care also improved, but sustained program losses remained at 6.0 years (boys and young men) and 10.4 years (girls and young women).
"Particularly for youth who are born with HIV, they have a similar life expectancy to HIV-free youth in an ideal care scenario, highlighting the importance of lifelong antiretroviral therapy and care involvement," Neilan noted.
"For people who contracted HIV during their teenage years, we expect a huge gap in life expectancy compared to their peers who were born with HIV, even after ideal HIV care," she said.
"We believe that this disparity is not caused by HIV itself, but by systemic, social and behavioural factors that must be addressed to improve life expectancy in this high-risk group."
The researchers further elaborated on these factors, including poverty, housing, insurance eligibility, transportation, fragmented health systems, and HIV stigma.
"Life expectancy is a key indicator of population health," Neilan emphasized, "and our study highlights the important work that needs to be done in HIV care and treatment so that HIV-infected adolescents can benefit as adults from the remarkable advances made in recent years in HIV diagnosis and treatment." "
References:
Certainly, here is the reference formatted in a standard academic style, such as APA:
Neilan, A. M., et al. (2024). Projected Life Expectancy for Adolescents With HIV in the US. JAMA Health Forum, 3(3), e20240816.
This article is transferred from: HIV Update