For Those with HIV,
Cigarettes Have Become More Dangerous Than the Actual Virus
According to a study out this week in the Journal of
Infectious Diseases, those with HIV infections who are also smokers
are now more likely to die from smoking than anything related to HIV itself. In
fact, among European populations smoking was found to reduce life expectancies
among those with HIV by about twice as much HIV itself. In the US, where rates
of HIV treatment adherence are generally worse, HIV and smoking are about equal
in terms of (indirect) causes of death.
"In persons with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
infection, smoking is a scourge," writes Keri Althoff, an epidemiologist
at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, in a commentary
accompanying the new study. "This study makes clear that we must
prioritize smoking cessation among adults with HIV if we want them to have an
increase in the quantity (and likely quality) of life."
It's
a reminder that treating HIV, as with any chronic illness really, is a holistic
endeavor. We can get so far with drugs—and controlling HIV is one of the more
amazing things we've accomplished with those drugs—but Reddy's study makes it
clear just how easy it is to erase those gains if we try to look at diseases in
isolation.
Journal of Infectious Diseases
Johns Hopkins School Of Public Health.
