In America, Aging With HIV is a Continuous Challenge

In the United States, more than half of people living with HIV are now age 50 and older, which is a testament to the success of advancements such as antiretrovirals and preexposure anaphylaxis. However, due to the traumatic nature of the HIV epidemic in the early 1980s, those who made it out alive can be left with emotional scars.

“There's always a delay in thinking about HIV in an older person, but that fact notwithstanding, the majority of people, once effective therapy became available, were living longer, and the current survival rate of anybody with HIV is about 85% of that of the general population,” Julian Falutz, M.D., geriatrician and HIV provider at McGill University Health Center and an associate professor at McGill University, in Montreal, said in a Managed Healthcare Executive interview.

However, due to the traumatic nature of the HIV epidemic in the early 1980s, those who made it out alive can be left with emotional scars.

“We know that people aging with HIV have a five-times higher rate of depression and higher rates of anxiety, and it's estimated that 31% of people aging with HIV experience isolation,” John Hartigan, the project director of HIV and Aging for the New York State Department of Health, AIDS Institute, said in a recent interview with Managed Healthcare Executive.

Geriatric HIV patients in America are also growing older in an ageist society, and aspects like sexual health can go ignored.

Matt Russell, M.D., is the acting section head of Palliative Medicine and Geriatrics at Massachusetts General Hospital, where they have a monthly town hall meeting to discuss topical issues. Russell said a two-part meeting about geriatric sexual health was one of the most well-attended meetings.

“[Sex] is always a part of the human experience, and many of the patients that I encounter with HIV, they're not done with their sex life, but unfortunately, sometimes they feel they've been dismissed because of their HIV status, particularly women,” Russell said in an interview with Managed Healthcare Executive.

Hartigan said the key to addressing disparities starts with collaboration, specifically between geriatricians, HIV physicians and pharmacies.