Demographic profile; changing trends in patients with HIV/AIDS in response to anti-retroviral therapy - a study from tertiary care centre

Abstract

Background: The study was conducted to analyze previous ten-year prevalence data of HIV infection in Osmania General Hospital a tertiary care center in Hyderabad, India. Objective of the study was knowledge of demographic details such as age and sex and geographic location will help in the planning of training and resource allocation for the future health needs of PLHIV (People Living with HIV) effectively. With introduction of anti-retro viral therapy (ART) dreadful disease of human immunodeficiency virus infection (HIV)/ acquired immuno deficiency syndrome (AIDS) has changed to chronic manageable disease. Methods: It is a retrospective hospital based observational study done on 18574 patients of HIV/AIDS who were registered in ART center, Osmania General Hospital. All the patients attending ART center, Osmania General Hospital from January 2005 to March 2016 were included and variables like age, sex, marital status, place of residence, pattern of risk behavior and HIV serostatus were studied. Results: Initially number of male patients attending ART center were significantly more compared to females but towards end of 2014 the number was almost the same. Year wise data was providing in figure 2. There was a gradual increase in the number of people getting tested each year from 2004 with a peak in 2008 with a gradual decline from 2011 as shown in table 2. Conclusions: The improved life expectancy on ART resulted in an increase in number of people living with HIV. Epidemiological studies should be carried out to understand the role of demographic factors to help managing the NACP (National AIDS Control Program) program. Increased emphasis is needed to evaluate behaviour change toward the end of NACP 111 and to plan for the future.