HIV after age 55

Abstract

HIV/AIDS continues to increase among adults older than 50 years of age. Racial and ethnic minorities are still disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS. The misconception that older adults are not at high risk for acquiring HIV/AIDS stems from a false impression that older adults are not sexually active and do not participate in risky behaviors that could result in HIV/AIDS. Studies show that older adult men and women engage in sexual intercourse--or some form of sexual behavior--at least weekly, and identify that risk factors for HIV/AIDS among adults older than 50 years of age include multiple sex partners, a high-risk partner, receipt of blood products between 1974 and 1984, or injection drug use. The development of new diagnostic resources, antimicrobial treatments, and antiretroviral therapy have made HIV/AIDS more chronic in nature, so that morbidity and mortality rates related to HIV/AIDS have declined. With this decline, HIV/AIDS has become a disease of chronicity rather than an acute illness.