A large observational study reported in December 2012 that HIV-positive people have a significantly higher risk for death and shorter lifespans than their HIV-negative counterparts. The study showed that even with well-controlled virus, HIV-positive smokers lose far more years to smoking than they do to HIV itself.
The Danish study compared 2,921 HIV-positive people to 10,642 HIV-negative people over an average of four years. Of the HIV-positive people, 47.4% were current smokers and 17.7% were ex-smokers. Of the HIV-negative people, the rates were 20.6% and 32.8%. The study excluded injection drug users.
Based on their analysis, the researchers reported that on average a 35-year-old HIV-positive smoker had a life expectancy of 62.6 years, compared to HIV-positive ex-smokers with 69.1 years and to those who never smoked with 78.4 years. Among HIV-positive people, 12.3 years of life were lost due to smoking while 5.1 years were lost to HIV infection. Comparatively, HIV-negative people lost only 3.5 years due to smoking.
The study authors noted, “In a setting where HIV care is well organized and antiretroviral therapy is free of charge [in Denmark], HIV-infected smokers lose more life-years to smoking than to HIV. More than 60% of deaths among HIV patients are associated with smoking.”