Elevated Mortality and Associated Social Determinants of Health in a Community-Based Sample of People Living with HIV in Ontario, Canada: Findings from the Positive Spaces, Healthy Places (PSHP) Study

Tsegaye Bekele, Jason Globerman, James Watson, Stephen W. Hwang, Keith Hambly, Jay Koornstra, Glen Walker, Jean Bacon, Sean B. Rourke, The Positive Spaces Healthy Places Study Team

We examined social determinants of health associated with all-cause mortality among 602 people living with HIV/AIDS in Ontario, Canada. Mortality status was verified at 1-, 3-, and 5-year follow-up visits with information obtained from proxies (family members, partners, and friends), obituaries, and local AIDS memorial lists. Of the 454 people for whom mortality information was available, 53 individuals died yielding a crude mortality rate of 22.3 deaths per 1000 person-years, a rate substantially higher than the rate in the general population (6.8 per 1000 population). Experiencing both homelessness and incarceration independently predicted high risk of mortality among men who have sex with men (MSM) while suboptimal self-rated general health at previous visit predicted higher greater risk of mortality in both MSM and women and heterosexual men. Homelessness and incarceration may contribute to HIV disease progression and mortality. Intensive case management that increases retention in care and facilitates linkage to housing services may help to reduce excess deaths among people with HIV.