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For the first time, the world is about to encounter a sizable cohort of HIV-positive persons age 60 and older."There have always been older people with HIV, but what is new is the numbers. That will require new public health thinking compared to the past," said Gottfried Hirnschall, director of HIV/AIDS for the World Health Organization.
The first significant cohort to survive decades on HIV therapy is found in western nations, where antiretroviral therapy (ART) was introduced in 1996. In the 33 US states with long-term name-based HIV reporting, those 50 and older in 2005 accounted for 24 percent of the HIV-positive population, up from 17 percent in 2001. The shift is expected to appear next in sub-Saharan Africa, which began to access ART around 2005.
Older HIV-positive survivors are notable not only for their numbers. In a survey by Great Britain's Terrence Higgins Trust, HIV-positive respondents over 50 were more likely than their HIV-negative peers to be unemployed. In addition, many HIV-positive respondents had not anticipated a long life, and had banked only modest savings.
Living into old age with HIV infection and ART also is associated with greater likelihood of an array of illnesses: hypertension; diabetes; lipodystrophy; metabolic disorders; osteoporosis; heart, liver, and kidney disease; and cancer.
"In the future, we are going to see patients living decades, and we are going to have to figure out ways of getting them to a healthy old age," said Margaret Hofffman Terry of the American Academy of HIV Medicine, who presented a profile of aging and HIV at the 18th International AIDS Conference this week in Vienna.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
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