Survival times of HIV/AIDS in different AIDS Diagnostic and Treatment Guidelines from 2006 to 2020 in Liuzhou, China

BACKGROUND: To compare the survival rates of four timing of treatment initiation for people living with HIV/AIDS provided in China in 2006, 2011, 2015, and 2018, and to investigate the factors impacting survival time. METHODS: A people living with HIV/AIDS retrospective cohort study was in Liuzhou City from April 2006 to December 2020. The information was obtained from the National Comprehensive AIDS Prevention and Control Information System. Life tables and the Kaplan–Meier method were used to calculate participant survival rates and time. The univariate and multivariate Cox regression models were used to investigate the factors related to survival. RESULTS: 18,543 participants were included in this study. In four periods, the 1-year survival rates were 81%, 87%, 95%, and 95%. The 2-year survival rates were 76%, 85%, 93%, and 94%. The 3-year survival rates were 73%, 84%, 92%, and 94%. Results of multivariate Cox regression showed that sex, age of HIV diagnosis, ethnicity, household registration, occupation, marital status, the timing of treatment, education level, route of HIV transmission, whether receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART), and the count of CD4(+)T cells at baseline (count of CD4(+)T cells at HIV diagnosis) were factors that are significantly correlated with mortality caused by HIV infection. CONCLUSIONS: With the Guidelines updated from 2006 to 2020, the 1-, 2-, and 3-year survival rates of people living with HIV/AIDS in four periods tended to increase. The timing of treatment initiation of the updated edition of the AIDS Diagnostic and Treatment Guidelines (Guidelines) significantly prolonged the survival time of people living with HIV/AIDS. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-023-15662-3.