Purpose of review: The aim of this study was to summarize recent evidence on the global epidemiology of adolescents (age 10-19 years) living with HIV (ALHIV), the burden of HIV on the health of adolescents and HIV-associated mortality.
Recent findings: In 2016, there were an estimated 2.1 million (uncertainty bound 1.4-2.7 million) ALHIV; 770 000 younger (age 10-14 years) and 1.03 million older (age 15-19 years) ALHIV, 84% living in sub-Saharan Africa. The population of ALHIV is increasing, as more peri/postnatally infected ALHIV survive into older ages; an estimated 35% of older female ALHIV were peri/postnatally infected, compared with 57% of older male ALHIV. Although the numbers of younger ALHIV deaths are declining, deaths among older ALHIV have remained static since peaking in 2012. In 2015, HIV-associated mortality was the eighth leading cause of adolescent death globally and the fourth leading cause in African low and middle-income countries.
Summary: Needed investments into characterizing and improving adolescent HIV-related health outcomes include strengthening systems for nationally and globally disaggregated data by age, sex and mode of infection; collecting more granular data within routine programmes to identify structural, social and mental health challenges to accessing testing and care; and prioritizing viral load monitoring and adolescent-focused differentiated models of care.