Aging With HIV: A Cross-Sectional Study of Comorbidity Prevalence and Clinical Characteristics Across Decades of Life

TLDR

Nurses and nurse practitioners require information on the health problems faced by aging HIV‑infected adults. In this descriptive, cross‑sectional study, we reviewed the electronic medical records of 1,478 adult patients seen in an HIV clinic between May 2006 and August 2007 to examine patterns of comorbidities, and immunological and clinical characteristics across each decade of life. Older HIV patients had lower viral loads, more medications, higher rates of comorbidities such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, and renal disease, greater insurance coverage, better appointment adherence, and the study highlighted markedly different comorbidity profiles across decades, challenging the definition of “older” with HIV.

Abstract

Nurses and nurse practitioners require information on the health problems faced by aging HIV-infected adults. In this descriptive, cross-sectional study, we reviewed the electronic medical records of 1,478 adult patients seen in an HIV clinic between May 2006 and August 2007 to examine patterns of comorbidities, and immunological and clinical characteristics across each decade of life. With increasing age, patients were found to have lower HIV viral loads, more prescribed medications, and a higher prevalence of comorbid conditions, including coronary artery disease, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, hypogonadism, erectile dysfunction, diabetes, peripheral neuropathy, hepatitis C, esophageal gastric reflux disease, and renal disease. Fortunately, with increasing age, patients were also more likely to have public or private health insurance and tended to be more compliant to medical appointments. With growing interest in aging with HIV, this study highlights the vastly different comorbidity profiles across decades of life, calling into question what constitutes “older” with HIV.