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Updated: Jun 13, 2026

Measuring Frailty in HIV-infected Individuals. Identification of Frail Patients is the First Step to Amelioration and Reversal of Frailty
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Measuring Frailty in HIV-infected Individuals. Identification of Frail Patients is the First Step to Amelioration and Reversal of Frailty

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Factors associated with specific causes of death amongst HIV-positive individuals in the D:A:D Study

1, Colette Smith, Caroline A Sabin

  • 1Research Department of Infection and Population Health, UCL, Royal Free Campus, London, UK. c.smith@ucl.ac.uk

AIDS (London, England)
|May 11, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Mortality in HIV-positive individuals has decreased, but factors like smoking, co-infections, and lower CD4 counts still increase death risk. Addressing these modifiable risks is key to reducing deaths in the cART era.

Area of Science:

  • Infectious Diseases
  • Epidemiology
  • Public Health

Background:

  • The advent of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) has transformed HIV management, leading to decreased mortality.
  • However, understanding evolving causes of death and associated risk factors in HIV-positive individuals remains crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify emerging trends in causes of death among HIV-positive individuals during the cART era.
  • To investigate specific risk factors associated with each cause of death.

Main Methods:

  • An observational multicentre cohort study was conducted using data from the Data Collection on Adverse Events of Anti-HIV drugs (D:A:D) Study.
  • Multivariable Poisson regression was employed to analyze associations between HIV-specific and non-HIV-specific risk factors and mortality.

Main Results:

  • A total of 2482 deaths were observed. Primary causes included AIDS, liver-related, cardiovascular disease (CVD)-related, and non-AIDS malignancy.
  • Mortality rates declined significantly from 1999/2000 to 2007/2008.
  • Risk factors identified include smoking (CVD, non-AIDS cancers), HBV/HCV co-infection (liver-related), hypertension (liver-related, CVD), diabetes, higher HIV RNA, and lower CD4 counts.

Conclusions:

  • Multiple potentially modifiable risk factors, both traditional and HIV-specific, contribute to mortality in HIV-infected individuals.
  • Addressing these factors is essential for further reducing mortality.
  • No emerging trends in unexpected causes of death were observed, though continued monitoring is recommended.
Abstract

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