{ "abstract": "Purpose: A large proportion of HIV diagnoses are made at an advanced stage of infection and different patient characteristics have been associated with late diagnosis of HIV. This study aims to assess the prevalence of late HIV diagnosis, to characterize individuals diagnosed at a late stage of infection and to evaluate regional differences in Germany.\n\nMethods: This retrospective, cross-sectional analysis included 1,169 individuals newly diagnosed with HIV in 2019 and 2020. Data on patient demographics, information on the HIV diagnosis and laboratory parameters were collected. Late diagnosis and advanced HIV disease were defined according to established consensus criteria. Regional comparison was made between eastern and western Germany.\n\nResults: In our cohort, 82.6% of the individuals were male and 16.9% female, with a median age of 39 years (IQR: 31–50). The prevalence of late diagnosis was 61.6% and advanced HIV disease, as a subgroup of late diagnosis, was present in 41.7%. Individuals with late diagnosis were significantly older than those diagnosed at an earlier stage (p < 0.001). Patients in eastern Germany were diagnosed at more advanced stages of infection with significantly higher rates of late diagnosis (p < 0.01), advanced HIV disease (p < 0.001), and AIDS-defining conditions (p < 0.001), as well as significantly lower CD4 cell counts (p < 0.001).\n\nConclusion: Our data demonstrate that a high proportion of HIV diagnoses in Germany are made at a late stage of infection. Late diagnosis was more frequent in older individuals and in those living in eastern Germany. These findings highlight the need for strengthened HIV testing strategies, particularly in underserved populations and regions.\n\nSupplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1007/s15010-026-02935-3.", "abstract_shown": true, "affiliations": [ "Institute of Infectious Diseases and Infection Control, Jena University Hospital, Friedrich-Schiller-University, Jena, Germany", "Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Friedrich-Schiller-University, Jena, Germany", "ICH Study Center Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany", "Infektiologikum Frankfurt, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany", "Department of Internal Medicine, Infectious Diseases, University Hospital Frankfurt, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany", "Clinic for Infectious Diseases, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany", "MVZ München Am Goetheplatz, Munich, Germany", "Department of Infectious and Respiratory Medicine, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany", "Department of Infectious Diseases, Vivantes Auguste-Viktoria-Klinikum, Berlin, Germany", "Praxis Georgstrasse, Hanover, Germany", "Clinical Department of Internal Medicine II, TUM School of Medicine and Health, TUM University Hospital, Munich, Germany", "Second Medical Department, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel, Germany", "Department of Medicine I, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany", "Center for Infectiology Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin, Germany", "MVZ Infektiologie Ärzteforum Seestrasse, Berlin, Germany", "Diabeteszentrum Erfurt, Erfurt, Germany", "Department of Infectious Diseases, St. Joseph Hospital, Berlin-Tempelhof, Berlin, Germany", "Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Department of Medicine I, Leipzig University Medical Center, Leipzig, Germany", "Medcenter Chemnitz, Chemnitz, Germany", "Praxis Am Ebertplatz, Cologne, Germany", "Department I of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany", "Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Infectious Diseases, Otto-Von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany", "Praxis Dr. Ruck, Leipzig, Germany", "Arztpraxis Rößler, Zwickau, Germany", "Laboratory Dr. Knechten, Medical Center for HIV and Hepatitis, Aachen, Germany", "Medcenter Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany", "Medcenter Weimar, Weimar, Germany" ], "article_type": "research article", "arxiv": null, "author_total": 29, "authors": [ { "affs": [ 0 ], "name": "Carlotta Helbig", "orcid": "0009-0004-9274-5911" }, { "affs": [ 1 ], "name": "Susanne Mohr" }, { "affs": [ 0 ], "name": "Mathias W. Pletz" }, { "affs": [ 0 ], "name": "Juliane Ankert" }, { "affs": [ 2 ], "name": "Jens Forthmann" }, { "affs": [ 3 ], "name": "Markus Bickel" }, { "affs": [ 4 ], "name": "Christoph Stephan" }, { "affs": [ 5 ], "name": "Olaf Degen" }, { "affs": [ 6 ], "name": "Sebastian Noe" }, { "affs": [ 7 ], "name": "Hans Wesselmann" }, { "affs": [ 8 ], "name": "Daniela Tominski" }, { "affs": [ 9 ], "name": "Stefanie Holm" }, { "affs": [ 10 ], "name": "Christoph Spinner" }, { "affs": [ 11 ], "name": "Neel Petersen" }, { "affs": [ 12 ], "name": "Christoph Boesecke" }, { "affs": [ 13 ], "name": "Axel Baumgarten" }, { "affs": [ 14 ], "name": "Wolfgang Schmidt" }, { "affs": [ 15 ], "name": "Sven Becker" }, { "affs": [ 16 ], "name": "Hartmut Stocker" }, { "affs": [ 17 ], "name": "Christoph Lübbert" }, { "affs": [ 18 ], "name": "Thomas Heuchel" }, { "affs": [ 19, 20 ], "name": "Christoph Wyen" }, { "affs": [ 21 ], "name": "Wilfried Obst" }, { "affs": [ 22 ], "name": "Ines Ruck" }, { "affs": [ 23 ], "name": "Steve Rößler" }, { "affs": [ 24 ], "name": "Heribert Knechten" }, { "affs": [ 25 ], "name": "Michael Waizmann" }, { "affs": [ 26 ], "name": "Thomas Seidel" }, { "affs": [ 0 ], "name": "Benjamin T. Schleenvoigt", "orcid": "0000-0003-4678-2469" } ], "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9hj4bvctkz1cc.bib", "cited_by": 0, "doi": "10.1007/s15010-026-02935-3", "fulltext_url": "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13727839/", "id": "9hj4bvctkz1cc", "issns": [ "0300-8126", "1439-0973" ], "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s15010-026-02935-3", "language": "en", "licence": "CC-BY-4.0", "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0", "licence_source": "article", "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "metadata_licence": null, "native_subjects": [ [ "heading", "Research" ], [ "openalex", "2725|HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions" ] ], "openalex": "W7204159603", "pdf_url": "https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s15010-026-02935-3.pdf", "pmcid": "PMC13727839", "pmid": "42640407", "published": "2026-08-25", "publisher": null, "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9hj4bvctkz1cc.ris", "sources": [ { "first_seen": "2026-11-06T12:23:38Z", "native_id": "PMC13727839", "source": "pmc", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s15010-026-02935-3" } ], "subjects": [ { "field": "medicine", "origin": "openalex:2725|HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions", "subfield": "infectious-disease" } ], "title": "Characteristics of late HIV diagnosis in Germany in 2019 and 2020 - A regional analysis", "title_text": "Characteristics of late HIV diagnosis in Germany in 2019 and 2020 - A regional analysis", "type": "peer-reviewed", "updated_at": "2026-11-07T12:20:57Z", "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9hj4bvctkz1cc", "venue": "Infection", "versions": [] }