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How does the prognosis of HIV-positive people compare with that of their HIV-negative peers? This analysis from the ATHENA cohort provides some very optimistic estimates.
Researchers followed 4612 people in the Netherlands who were diagnosed with HIV infection between 1998 and 2007 and did not initiate antiretroviral therapy (ART) in the first 6 months after diagnosis. Median CD4 count at 6 months was 480 cells/mm3.
During 17,580 person-years of follow-up (median, 3.3 years per person), there were 118 deaths, versus only 35 among age- and sex-matched controls in the general population. However, when the researchers excluded injection-drug users and patients who progressed to AIDS before ART initiation, the projected survival for HIV-positive …