COVID-19 outcomes worse for persons living with diagnosed HIV

(HealthDay)—Persons living with HIV who are diagnosed with COVID-19 are more likely to require hospitalization and to die, according to a study published online Feb. 3 in JAMA Network Open.

James M. Tesoriero, Ph.D., from the New York State Department of Health in Albany, and colleagues examined the association between HIV diagnosis and COVID-19 diagnosis, hospitalization, and in-hospital death in a cohort study conducted in New York state between March 1 and June 15, 2020.

A total of 2,988 persons living with diagnosed HIV received a diagnosis of COVID-19. Through June 15, 2020, 896 and 207 of these individuals were hospitalized and died in the hospital, respectively. After standardization, the researchers identified similar diagnosis rates for persons living with and without diagnosed HIV (standardized rate ratio [sRR], 0.94; 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 0.91 to 0.97), but hospitalization occurred more often among persons living with versus without diagnosed HIV, per population (sRR, 1.38; 95 percent CI, 1.29 to 1.47) and among those diagnosed (sRR, 1.47; 95 percent CI, 1.37 to 1.56). Persons living with diagnosed HIV had elevated mortality per population (sRR, 1.23; 95 percent CI, 1.07 to 1.40) and among those diagnosed (sRR, 1.30; 95 percent CI, 1.13 to 1.48), but not among those hospitalized (sRR, 0.96; 95 percent CI, 0.83 to 1.09). Among those living with diagnosed HIV, compared with Whites, non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic individuals were more likely to receive a diagnosis of COVID-19 (adjusted rate ratios [95 percent CIs], 1.59 [1.40 to 1.81] and 2.08 [1.83 to 2.37], respectively), but they were not more likely to be hospitalized once diagnosed or to die once hospitalized.

"Our findings present an opportunity to address health equity with regard to HIV and COVID-19 through a combination of prevention and treatment approaches," the authors write.

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