Antiretroviral drugs have significantly improved the life expectancy of people living with HIV, but it has been seen that the virus – and often the ARVs themselves – can make people more susceptible to non-communicable diseases than the rest of the population.

-Team@CMHF

The six non-communicable diseases that is more likely to affect people living with HIV:

1.Heart disease – Studies presented at the 18th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in March 2011 found that HIV-infected participants had an increased risk of acute myocardial infarction compared with demographically and behaviorally similar HIV-negative study participants.

Studies also found that HIV infection was a risk factor for heart failure, with ongoing viral replication associated with a higher risk of developing heart failure andCoronary heart disease.

2.Cervical cancer – After breast cancer, it is the second most common cancer among women worldwide; more than 80 percent of new cases and deaths from the disease occur in developing countries.

Studies have found that HIV-positive women are at higher risk of human papillomavirus (HPV), a precursor to cervical cancer; women with low CD4 counts seem to be particularly vulnerable.
HPV can be prevented with a vaccine recommended for pre-adolescent girls before they reach their sexual debut but the vaccine is too expensive for most women in developing countries.

3.Other cancers – People living with HIV are more susceptible to several cancers, including Kaposi sarcoma, Hodgkin’s and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, anal cancer, skin cancer and liver cancer – than HIV-negative people, a new study has found.

4.Mental illness –According to the World Health Organization (WHO), apart from the psychological impact of HIV, the virus has direct effects on the central nervous system, leading to neuropsychiatric complications, including HIV encephalopathy, depression, mania, cognitive disorders, and dementia.

Depression can lead to high-risk behavior, including transactional sex, partner abuse and low condom use.

5.Kidney disease – Known as HIV-associated nephropathy, kidney disease is relatively common in people living with HIV. The virus interferes with the kidneys’ ability to function correctly, particularly in people with advanced HIV who have a low CD4 count and a high viral load, as well as older people.

6.Liver disease – A leading cause of morbidity and death among HIV-positive individuals, it is mainly caused by co-infection with hepatitis B or hepatitis C, alcohol abuse, insulin resistance or side-effects of medicines.

For further reading log on to
http://gantdaily.com/2011/12/22/hiv-and-the-risk-of-non-communicable-diseases/