People Who Have Taken Many HIV Meds Have Worse Health Outcomes

[J.R.E.]

https://www.poz.com/article/people-taken-many-hiv-meds-worse-health-outcomes

[Jim Allen]

Intressting but the headline is terrible if you ask me, the study in short reads to me as another reason to test regularly and start treatment sooner before damage is done, not something that was unknown even going back to the START study results.

People living with HIV who are on treatment for the virus and have cycled through numerous antiretrovirals (ARVs), compared with their counterparts who have not taken many such medications, have lower CD4 counts, poorer control of HIV and more diagnoses of other health conditions, the National AIDS Treatment Advocacy Project (NATAP) reports.

Presenting their findings at the International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2020), which was held virtually earlier this month, investigators overseeing the OPERA cohort analyzed differences between a group of people with HIV who were heavily treatment experienced—meaning they had taken many ARVs over time—compared with those on HIV treatment who were not.

[harleymc]

The write up is rubbish.


Are we in anyway surprised that our health care providers try new combinations if old ones aren't working?  That sounds like basic duty of care.

Instead someone has leapt to the unwarranted conclusion that a change to medications makes things worse.  I expect better from poz.com, it might be one of the reasons that visitors are shunning this site.