The economic cost of HIV: new study quantifies impact on work and income
A recent study, published in Nature Communications, shows that in the Netherlands, people who are diagnosed with HIV are less likely to be employed, work fewer hours, earn less income, and are more likely to receive disability benefits up to seven years after diagnosis.
Tinbergen Institute PhD student Andrei Tuiu (University of Amsterdam) and research fellows Wendy Janssens (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam), Menno Pradhan (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and University of Amsterdam), and Esmée Zwiers (University of Amsterdam), conducted the research in collaboration with researchers from Amsterdam University Medical Center, University of Amsterdam.
The study, supported by the Amsterdam Research Centre for Health Economics and Management (ARCHEM) utilizes data from Stichting hiv monitoring (SHM) and Statistics Netherlands. It compares labor market outcomes of 5960 people diagnosed with HIV between 2010 and 2022 to a matched control group of 59,600 people drawn from the general population.
Andrei Tuiu, lead author of the study explains: “To date little is known of the impact living with HIV has on individuals’ ability to participate in economic activity and the labor market. With this study we aim to provide first quantified estimates of the economic implications of living with HIV.”
The analysis shows that an HIV diagnosis has immediate and enduring consequences for the labor market position of patients. On average individuals lose 3,584 euros in annual income following a diagnosis which represents a nine percent decline compared to their earnings before the diagnosis.
Furthermore the probability of being employed drops by four percent and the total number of work hours decreases by five percent. One of the most striking findings is the sharp increase in reliance on social security as the probability of receiving disability or sickness benefits surges by 46 percent after the diagnosis.
Read more about the study on the websites of the University of Amsterdam and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
Article citation
Andrei Tuiu, Esmée Zwiers, Wendy Janssens, Vita Jongen, Ard van Sighem, Ferdinand Wit, Menno Pradhan and Marc van der Valk, 'Labor Market Outcomes of People with HIV Pre- and Post-Diagnosis in the Netherlands', Nature Communications, Vol. 17 Issue 1, Article number: 1110 (2026). doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-67799-x.