When HIV first came to widespread awareness in the early 1980s, a diagnosis was considered a near-death sentence. People often died within a few years of infection as their compromised immune system failed to fend off opportunistic viral and bacterial infections.
But according to a new study published yesterday in the journal PLoS One, the life expectancy among those in treatment for the disease is now approaching that of the general population.
The study, which was led by Hasina Samji at the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, estimated the life expectancy of patients on antiretroviral therapy in Canada and the U.S. It found that a 20-year-old diagnosed with HIV today can be expected to live an additional 51.4 years – in other words, into their early 70s. That compares to a life expectancy of 77 for males and 82 for females in the general population in Canada.
The finding is especially impressive when compared to life expectancy a decade ago. In 2000, a person newly diagnosed with HIV could be expected to live only an additional 36 years, to the age of 56.
CBC
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