Life spans of Canadians with HIV shows big jump

published on August 6, 2015 by Terry Haig, in RCI

A new study finds that Canadians diagnosed with HIV are living about 16 years longer than they were in 2000.

The study by the Vancouver-based Canadian Observational Cohort Collaboration found that the overall life expectancy of Canadians undergoing antiretroviral treatment for the AIDS-causing virus has increased to 65 years.

However, the study also found life expectancy improved more for men than for women and that people with a history of drug use and that people with First Nations ancestry did not experience as much of an increase.

The study did not explore the reasons behind the differences.

The study’s senior investigator, Robert Hogg, a senior scientist at the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, suggested socio-economic disparities and varying access to treatment were two possibilities.

He called on the federal government to adopt a nation-wide strategy emphasising early treatment and prevention, similar one currently in use in British Columbia.

Research has shown that early treatment not only improves the health of people living with HIV, but also reduces onward transmission of the disease.

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© Copyright BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS
St. Paul's Hospital 608–1081 Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6Z 1Y6
Tel: 604-806-8477 | Fax: 604-806-9044
General inquiries: info@bccfe.ca
Media inquiries: communications@bccfe.ca
(Please do not use any of these email addresses to send personal information or book an appointment. To book appointments or contact the H2H clinic, please call 604-416-1517 or fax: 604-564-4893. Do not send your or your client's personal information via email.)

Our work serves clients and communities across British Columbia on lands and waters cared for and nurtured by the many distinct First Nations across the province. The BC-CfE humbly and gratefully acknowledge the stewards of these lands, particularly the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaʔ (Tsleil-Waututh) on whose unceded, traditional and ancestral territories our offices are located.