Published 26 January 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.a3172
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;338:a3172

Clinical Review

HIV infection, antiretroviral treatment, ageing, and non-AIDS related morbidity

Steven G Deeks, professor of medicine1, Andrew N Phillips, professor of epidemiology2

1 Positive Health Program, San Francisco General Hospital, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94131, USA , 2 HIV Epidemiology and Biostatistics Group, Department of Primary Care and Population Sciences, and Royal Free Centre for HIV Medicine, Royal Free and University College Medical School, University College London, London NW3 2PF

Correspondence to: S G Deeks, 995 Potero Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94110, USA sdeeks@php.ucsf.edu

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.


Although mortality in people with HIV infection continues to decrease as treatment improves, it is still higher than in uninfected people
The risk of non-AIDS related morbidity and mortality—including cardiovascular disease, liver disease, and cancer—is higher in untreated HIV infection than in treated infection
The incidence of cancer, liver disease, and cardiovascular disease is higher in treated patients than in age matched HIV uninfected people
Lower CD4+ T cell counts on treatment are associated with increased risk of cancer, liver disease, and perhaps cardiovascular disease
Treatment improves immunological function, but persistent defects—many of which are seen in advanced ageing—remain
Inflammation often remains raised during long term antiretroviral treatment; the cause and clinical relevance of this persistent inflammation are unclear


More than 25 antiretroviral drugs from six therapeutic classes are now available for the management of HIV infection (box 1). Most patients who take medication achieve durable and perhaps lifelong viral . . . [Full text of this article]


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