Late HIV Diagnosis in Thrace, Turkey: A Six-Year Experience from a Border Region

Despite advances in diagnosis and treatment, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection still continues to be a globally important public health problem. While early diagnosis facilitates the control of the disease, late diagnosis can affect treatment success and prognosis adversely. This retrospective study evaluated the clinical and demographic characteristics of 127 treatment-naive people living with HIV who were older than 18 years of age and who were followed between 2017 and 2023 in a center in Thrace, a transitional region between Europe and Turkey, and the effects of early and late diagnosis on the course of disease were examined. It was found that 89% of the patients were male, and median age was 30 years. Of the patients, 52% had been diagnosed late, and this group was found to be older. The rate of advanced HIV disease was 28.3%. The rates of additional chronic disease (42.4%), opportunistic infection, and diagnosis with clinical symptoms were higher in the late diagnosis group. CD4 T lymphocyte levels were lower, and viral load was found to be higher in this group. At the sixth month of treatment, the rate of virologic response was found to be better in the early diagnosis group. In the late diagnosis group, immunological response was also limited, and hospitalization (40.9%), need for intensive care (12.1%), and mortality (4.5%) rates were higher in this group. These findings demonstrate the prevalence of late diagnosis in the Thrace region and its significant effects on the clinical course of HIV infection. They also emphasize the importance of targeted screening and early diagnosis strategies in border regions.