Published 18 June 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b2165
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;338:b2165

Editorials

Health systems and increased longevity in people with HIV and AIDS

Lessons can be learnt from the extensive experience in other chronic disorders

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

The introduction of antiretroviral therapy in the 1990s transformed the lives of people with HIV and AIDS.1 2 Whereas AIDS was once a rapidly progressive disease, with a life expectancy often measured in months, it has now become yet another chronic disease where effective, well tolerated, and widely available treatment allows those affected to lead relatively normal lives. Ninety years ago, a similar therapeutic breakthrough, the isolation of insulin, transformed the lives of those with type 1 diabetes. Now, models based on empirical data estimate that a 25 year old person with HIV, when appropriately treated with antiretroviral therapy, can expect to enjoy a median survival of 35 years, remarkably similar to that for someone of the same age with type 1 diabetes.3

The benefits of antiretroviral therapy are not confined to the West. Although the mortality of patients starting therapy in sub-Saharan Africa is substantially higher than for those in . . . [Full text of this article]

R A Atun, professor of international health management1, I Gurol-Urganci, lecturer2, M McKee, professor of European public health2

1 Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ , 2 Department of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT

R A Atun rifat.atun@theglobalfund.org


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to StumbleUpon StumbleUpon   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?
Access jobs at BMJ Careers
Whats new online at Student BMJ