Mortality among HIV positive individuals has decreased dramatically in countries with good access to antiretroviral treatment. Now, researchers have found that 5 years after HIV seroconversion, individuals in industrialized countries who are receiving HAART are no more likely to die than HIV negative individuals in the general population, according to a report published in the July 2, 2008 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The aim of the current study was to evaluate changes in the "mortality gap" or "excess mortality" between HIV-infected individuals and the general, uninfected population.

Researchers at 23 medical centers in Europe, Australia, and Canada compared mortality rates following HIV seroconversion among 16,534 participants enrolled in CASCADE -- a large multinational collaboration of HIV seroconverter cohorts -- with expected mortality calculated based on rates in a general population matched for demographic factors. Full Article...