As the HIV population ages, non-communicable diseases will rise among them, in particular heart disease, as well as the use of medications for those diseases that may conflict with antiretrovirals (ARVs), Reuters Health reports. Publishing their findings in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, researchers examined data of 10,278 people from the national Dutch ATHENA cohort and created a model projecting the rates of non-communicable diseases into 2030.

The researchers projected that, in the Netherlands, the median age of HIV-positive people taking ARVs would increase from 43.9 years in 2010 to 56.6 in 2030. People 50 years and older, who made up 28 percent of the HIV population in 2010, are expected to comprise 73 percent by 2030.

While 29 percent of HIV-positive Dutch people had at least one non-communicable disease in 2010, this proportion is projected to increase to 84 percent by 2030; 28 percent of the population will have three or more such diseases. The proportion of those taking co-medications will shift from 13 percent to 54 percent in that time. By 2030, an estimated 20 percent of people with HIV will take three or more such medications, with 40 percent of people with HIV experiencing drug-drug interactions with their ARVs that could cause complications.

The majority of these increases in other diseases and co-medications is expected to be the result of cardiovascular disease.

To read the Reuters article, click here.

To read the study abstract, click here.