There and back again: the impact of adult HIV prevalence on national life expectancies.

Worldwide we have seen dramatic increases in HIV prevalence and decreases in life expectancy over the last decade. The aim of this study was to determine the association between HIV prevalence and life expectancy. A strong negative association between adult HIV prevalence and life expectancy was observed for 137 countries. Because high adult HIV prevalence poses the greatest threat to countries with limited health resources, our study supports increased efforts to provide antiretrovirals in these countries.