Compared with their HIV-negative peers, HIV-positive individuals are more likely to have received treatment for a long roster of other health conditions, according to an analysis of insurance databases, aidsmap reports.

Publishing their findings in The Journal of Infectious Diseases, researchers reviewed 2003 to 2013 insurance claims of people with HIV, including 36,298 people covered by commercial insurance, 26,246 covered by Medicaid and 1,854 covered by Medicare.

The most common health conditions for which these individuals had insurance claims filed included high blood pressure, high blood lipids, endocrine disease (including diabetes), diabetes and kidney impairment. The Medicare recipients had higher rates of these conditions, which is unsurprising given their average age was 71.5 years, compared with 41.6 years among those on Medicaid and 42.2 years among those who were privately insured.

                                                                                                                                

During the study period, claims related to cardiovascular health events, high blood lipids and kidney impairment rose more than twofold.

The study authors compared insurance claims among the HIV-positive study cohort members with HIV-negative matched controls drawn from the same databases. Among those with commercial insurance, the HIV-positive individuals were more likely than the HIV-negative people to have received treatment for cardiovascular disease, deep vein thrombosis, high blood pressure, hepatitis C virus (HCV), kidney impairment, bone fracture or osteoporosis, cancer, liver disease and alcoholism. The Medicaid database revealed similar trends.

Among those receiving Medicare, deep vein thrombosis, kidney impairment and cancer were more common among those living with HIV than those without the virus.

To read the aidsmap article, click here.

To read the study abstract, click here.

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