Treatment delays health problems in patients with HIV

A study carried out in various Spanish hospitals shows that people receiving antiretroviral treatment for HIV take longer to suffer serious side effects on their health, such as cardiovascular disease or cancer.

Image of antiretroviral pills. EFE/Nick Bothma

The work was presented at the XV National Congress of GeSIDA, held in Zaragoza this week, ahead of World AIDS Day, December 1, and reveals a delay in the onset of adverse health events in people with HIV taking antiretroviral treatment.

Experts from the Ramón y Cajal Hospital in Madrid, Son Espaces University Hospital in Palma de Mallorca, Juan XXIII University Hospital in Tarragona, Virgen de Valme University Hospital in Seville, Vall d’Hebron University Hospital in Barcelona and Val d ‘Ebron This study involved the University Hospital of Barcelona Donostia de San Sebastian, University Hospital Bellwitge at the Hospitalet de Llobregat and the Virgen del Rocío University Hospital in Seville.

The study explains that due to the high effectiveness of antiretroviral therapy (ART), HIV infection has become a chronic disease, resulting in an increase in the life expectancy of people living with the virus and, consequently, an aging of the said population.

Studying

The aim of the work was to assess the trend of age-related mobility in the CoRIS cohort (the largest among people with HIV in Spain) over time.

For this reason, the authors defined three six-year study periods: 2006-2011, 2012-2017, 2018-2023.

Researchers focused on identifying serious health problems that were not directly related to AIDS and were referred to by the acronym ENSO, such as:

• Major adverse cardiovascular events: nonfatal acute myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, and cardiovascular death.
• Malignant neoplasms that do not define AIDS
• Non-accidental deaths.

Experts selected a total of 18,659 people who had not yet received antiretroviral treatment to treat and study over the years.

The incidence of ENSO in each period was 1.44, 0.95, and 0.67 events per 1000 person-years, respectively.

The average age of onset of the first adverse event was 42.2 years in the first period, 45.6 years in the second and 48.3 years in the third.

Despite the aging population, the incidence of ENSO in people receiving HIV has decreased significantly over time.

In the study presented at the GeSIDA Congress, a noticeable delay in the age of onset of these events can be seen.

This may indicate that improvements in ART and HIV care are promoting healthier aging in this population.