Aging with HIV: a cross-sectional look at comorbidities

Area of Science:

• Geriatric Medicine
• Infectious Diseases
• Public Health

Background:

• People living with HIV (PLHIV) face a higher risk of developing multiple health conditions (multimorbidity) than the general population.
• Aging PLHIV populations require specific attention due to increased vulnerability to non-infectious diseases and geriatric syndromes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the prevalence of non-infectious comorbidities in PLHIV aged 50 and older.
• To evaluate the occurrence of geriatric syndromes in this demographic.
• To analyze trends in comorbidity and multimorbidity across different age groups.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional analysis of PLHIV aged 50+ from a Spanish University Hospital outpatient clinic.
• Categorization of participants into ten-year age intervals.
• Estimation of crude and standardized prevalence for comorbidities, geriatric syndromes, and multimorbidity (≥2 diseases) using exact methods.

Main Results:

• Multimorbidity was prevalent in 37% of PLHIV over 50.
• Most common comorbidities included dyslipidemia (37.7%), hypertension (26.2%), diabetes mellitus (14.8%), and non-AIDS defining cancers (15.6%).
• Frequent geriatric syndromes were fractures/osteoporosis (9.8%), dementia (8.2%), and frailty (8.2%); prevalence increased with age.

Conclusions:

• PLHIV over 50 exhibit a high prevalence of non-infectious comorbidities and geriatric syndromes.
• Age is a significant factor, with multimorbidity increasing in older PLHIV.
• These findings highlight the need for comprehensive geriatric care in aging HIV populations.