A study taking stock of the profile of people who develop AIDS shows that a significant proportion of patients knew they were HIV positive, but were not treated with antiretrovirals.
- Between 800 and 900 cases of AIDS per year are diagnosed in France.
- 62% of AIDS diagnoses occurred in people unaware of their HIV status before the results.
- On the other hand, 18% of patients were aware of their HIV infection, but were not taking treatment.
A few days before December 1, World AIDS Day, Public Health France published a weekly epidemiological bulletin which takes stock of HIV infection, its prevention, screening and treatment in the country.
Thanks to antiretroviral treatments and advances in medicine, it is now possible to be HIV positive without developing AIDS. However, a study carried out by researchers from the public health agency reveals that a still significant number of people who know they are infected with the virus do not take these medications and develop the disease.
AIDS: 18% of patients knew they were HIV positive before diagnosis
To have the profile of people who developed AIDS in France, the team used data from the mandatory declaration of the disease collected from 2012 to 2023. Around 11,300 cases of AIDS were recorded over this period. “The estimated number of AIDS diagnoses decreased from 2012 (around 1,200 cases) until 2020 (around 750), and has since fluctuated between 800 and 900 cases per year”specify the authors in their article.
And if AIDS has long been seen as a disease mainly affecting young people, the study confirms that all age groups must be cautious. Indeed, the proportion of people aged 50 and over increased from 32% in 2012 to 46% in 2023. The median age at the time of AIDS diagnosis was 45 years. Contamination occurred in almost two thirds of cases (63%) during heterosexual intercourse.
Another worrying observation: if the majority of AIDS diagnoses (62%) occurred in people unaware of their HIV status before the results, 18% of patients were aware of their HIV infection, but were not taking antiretrovirals (ARV). These untreated HIV-positive patients were mainly men (65%). They had known about their infection for a median period of 7.5 years (9.3 years for people born in France and 5.8 years for those born abroad).
AIDS prevention: “reaching those furthest from the health system”
In an editorial which accompanies the weekly epidemiological bulletin of Public Health France, Hugues Cordel of the Avicenne Hospital and the French Society for the Fight against AIDS, is concerned about the figures concerning the discoveries of HIV infections which are not going “not in a good way”.
“The number of these [découvertes d’infections, ndlr] is increasing and this cannot be explained by a screening rate which, in 2023, has reached a record level in France. Even among men who have sex with other men born in France, the drop in new diagnoses is no longer observed, even though it had been continuous for more than ten years.he laments.
For him, the high rate of AIDS diagnosis among individuals unaware of their HIV status shows that there are still significant prevention and awareness efforts, because “there are still people who screening programs cannot reach”. Moreover, “the observation of a non-negligible proportion of AIDS diagnoses in people who know their HIV status, but have not been treated with ARV, shows that a strengthening of the link to care remains necessary for some of the discoveries of HIV status” estimate the researchers in their report. “The biggest challenge is therefore to reach those furthest from the health system, linking prevention and care”, concludes Hugues Cordel.
