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. 2020 May 1;34(6):859-867.
doi: 10.1097/QAD.0000000000002493.

Pilot study assessing the Rotterdam Healthy Aging Score in a cohort of HIV-positive adults in Toronto, Canada

Sharon L Walmsley  1   2   3 , Melody Ren  1   2 , Ceylon Simon  1   2 , Rosemarie Clarke  1   2 , Leah Szadkowski  1   4
Affiliations

Pilot study assessing the Rotterdam Healthy Aging Score in a cohort of HIV-positive adults in Toronto, Canada

Sharon L Walmsley et al. AIDS. .

Abstract

Objective: The Rotterdam Healthy Aging Score (HAS) is a validated multidimensional index constructed from five health domains. We describe the HAS distribution in a cohort of HIV-positive adults and correlate it with health outcomes.

Design: A cross-sectional pilot study of 101 adults aged at least 40 years, on suppressive antiretroviral therapy attending a tertiary HIV clinic in Toronto, Canada.

Methods: Participants completed questionnaires to calculate their HAS (range 0-14). Demographics, HAS and sub-scores were compared by age and sex. The HAS was compared with results of the Fried Frailty Score, Short Performance Physical Battery score (SPPB) and measures of health utilization. Kruskal--Wallis Rank-Sum and Fisher's exact tests were used for all comparisons.

Results: Median (IQR) age was 56 (50--62), 81 (80%) men and 50 (50%) born in Canada. Median (IQR) CD4 cell count was 574 (417--794) cells/μl. Median (IQR) HAS was 12 (10--13) with 39 (39%) achieving a score more than 12 (considered healthy aging). Younger participants experienced more depression, whereas women had greater pain. The HAS score correlated with the Fried Frailty Score (P = 0.008) and trended with the SPPB Score (P = 0.077). Those with the poorest HAS scores were more likely to have been hospitalized in the preceding 6 months (P = 0.034).

Conclusion: The HAS ranged from 5 to 14 in this cohort of older HIV adults with 39% attaining scores in the 'healthy' range. The HAS correlated with measures of physical performance and health utilization. Further validation of an objective outcome in HIV-positive patients will facilitate evaluation of interventional studies to improve healthy aging.

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Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest.

This work was presented in part at the 21st International workshop on comorbidities and adverse drug reactions in HIV (abstract P03) and at the European AIDS Conference (abstract PE 9/5) in Basel, Switzerland in November 2019.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Distribution of the Healthy Aging Score in the HIV cohort.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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