Coming of Age: Young Adults with Perinatally Acquired HIV Infection

Excerpt

With the widespread availability of antiretroviral therapy (ART), a new demographic has been added to the people living with HIV (PLHIV) – young adults who were perinatally infected with HIV. In 2017, according to the World Health Organization, 5 million young people (15–24 y) were living with HIV including the vertically infected ones [1]. This group has their own unique perspectives and issues– physical, mental health, psycho-social, education and career. Recent studies worldwide have tried to provide insight into the issues of perinatally infected adolescents and young adults [2, 3]; there is still a substantial data gap, especially in the Indian context. The perinatally HIV infected adolescents and young adults face the consequences of the chronic disease per se as well as the long-term effects of ART. They may be shorter than their HIV uninfected counterparts with delayed puberty [4], have some degree of cognitive impairment [5], and lung function deterioration in the form of obstructive disease [6]. In addition, they are more likely to have other organ dysfunctions– cardiac and renal. …