In 1996, the total life expectancy for a 20-year-old person with HIV was 39 years. In 2011, the total life expectancy bumped up to about 70 years. The survival rate for HIV-positive people has also dramatically improved since the first days of the HIV epidemic.

How many years can HIV-positive person live?

Compared to the general population, the life expectancy for patients with HIV infection at age 20 is about 36 years less. We have found that out a total of 1597 years of life lost during 2001-2011, compared to an overall AYLL for all HIV/AIDS, the deaths had occurred 36 years earlier than the life expectancy.

What do HIV patients usually die from?

Leading causes of death for HIV patients were accidental death and suicide (21.5%), non-AIDS-associated malignancies (17.5%), and lung disease (excluding cancer) (14.5%). For AIDS patients, the most frequent underlying causes of death were AIDS-associated death (76.4%) and non-AIDS-defining malignancies (4.3%).