Substantial gap in primary care: older adults with HIV presenting late to care

BMC Geriatrics

Faiza Yasin¹  Lydia A. Barakat²  Bennie Taylor³  Christina Rizk⁴ 

[1] Department of Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, Yale AIDS Program, Yale University School of Medicine, 135 College Street, Suite 323, 06510, New Haven, CT, USA;Department of Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, Yale AIDS Program, Yale University School of Medicine, 135 College Street, Suite 323, 06510, New Haven, CT, USA;Yale AIDS Program, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA;Whitman Walker Health, Washington, D.C, USA;Yale AIDS Program, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA;

关键词: Aging population;    Older adults;    HIV;    Risk;    Testing;    Stigma;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12877-020-01842-y

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundLate diagnosis of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is associated with increased morbidity and mortality, and represents a serious public health concern.MethodsA retrospective medical record review was conducted on 188 patients with newly diagnosed HIV at a large academic center’s HIV clinic from 1/2010 to 12/2019. Patient demographic data, HIV staging, and response to combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) as measured by HIV viral suppression at 12 weeks (HIV RNA < 50 copies) were collected. Bivariate analyses were applied to compare patients ≥50 years old to those < 50 years old.ResultsOver two-thirds of the older patients with a new diagnosis of HIV presented with a CD4 count < 200, or an AIDS-defining illness. Though not statistically significant, this same group also had a delay to viral suppression with only 59% achieving viral suppression after 12-weeks of cART initiation.ConclusionsThis study suggests that older patients are presenting to care with advanced stages of HIV, and may also have a delay in achieving viral suppression after cART initiation. Future studies should aim to target HIV testing and treatment strategies for this at-risk older adult group.

【 授权许可】

CC BY