Alcohol Use and HIV/AIDS Intersection Analyses
Summary
Alcohol consumption and HIV/AIDS intersect across behavioural, biological and structural pathways. Behaviourally, excessive drinking undermines safe-sex practices and increases the risk of condomless intercourse, thereby driving new HIV infections. Biologically, alcohol can impair immune function and reduce adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART), accelerating disease progression and increasing viral load. Structural drivers—including limited access to mental-health services and stigma—compound these effects in regions heavily affected by HIV. Recent analytical frameworks have combined epidemiological data with mathematical modelling to quantify the contribution of alcohol use disorders (AUD) to HIV incidence and to assess the cost-effectiveness of screening and treatment interventions. Integration of alcohol-reduction strategies within HIV care has emerged as a key policy priority, with economic evaluations highlighting the potential for substantial gains in quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) and reductions in new infections, especially in resource-constrained settings.
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Alcohol Use and HIV/AIDS Intersection Analyses publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in alcohol use and hiv/aids intersection analyses across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD): A medical diagnosis characterised by impaired control over drinking and continued use despite adverse consequences.
Antiretroviral Therapy (ART): A treatment regimen for HIV infection that uses a combination of drugs to suppress viral replication.
Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT-C): A brief screening tool to identify unhealthy alcohol consumption based on a short questionnaire.
Quality-adjusted Life-Year (QALY): A measure that combines life expectancy with a quality-of-life weighting to assess the value of medical interventions.
References
- Cost-effectiveness of screening and treating alcohol use and depression among people living with HIV in Zimbabwe: a mathematical modeling study. BMC Medicine (2024).
- Effect of a brief alcohol counselling intervention on HIV viral suppression and alcohol use among persons with HIV and unhealthy alcohol use in Uganda and Kenya: a randomized controlled trial. Journal of the International AIDS Society (2023).
- Does alcohol use have a causal effect on HIV incidence and disease progression? A review of the literature and a modeling strategy for quantifying the effect. Population Health Metrics (2017).
- A Population-Based Study on Alcohol and High-Risk Sexual Behaviors in Botswana. PLOS Medicine (2006).
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