The standard use of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) has resulted in major and sustained declines in HIV-associated morbidity and mortality. Nonetheless, the life expectancy of patients with HIV on cART still remains 10 or more years shorter than that of uninfected persons of the same age, especially in patients starting cART at the time infection is already advanced. A greater risk of a broad range of co-morbidities, experienced by as many as 60% of patients, even after adjustment for age, may contribute to this discrepancy. Several studies have demonstrated an increased incidence of heart disease, diabetes mellitus, kidney disease, liver disease, osteoporosis, malignancies (other than Kaposi's sarcoma and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma traditionally associated with HIV), cognitive disorders and possibly chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in HIV-infected individuals when compared to age matched HIV-uninfected controls. Of note, the incidence of each of the mentioned co-morbidities is also higher after adjustment for age and other traditional risk factors. Most studies were conducted in the United States where prevalence of and risk factors for the various co-morbidities may be different than in Europe, in particular the Netherlands.