Report: More Seniors Living With HIV

On July 15, the New York City Department of Health released a report that confirmed in the most astonishing way earlier findings that the population of people living with HIV and AIDS was aging: three-quarters of those people in the city are now in their 40s or older, and more than one-third are over age 50.

Just as they do in the HIV population in general, women constitute the largest-growing numbers in HIV-positive older people. The report confirms one released last month by Gay Men's Health Crisis, the city's (and the world's) largest private AIDS service organization.

The aging actually represents progress on the AIDS front; it is a result of the success of the drug "cocktail." Fewer and fewer people are dying within a few years of HIV infection -- a startling contrast to the first two decades of the epidemic. "People with HIV are living longer due to anti-retrovirals, and 17 percent of new HIV infections occur among people over the age of 50," said Marjorie Hill, the head of GMHC.

That's the good news. The bad news is that the medical establishment and service organizations public and private haven't really prepared themselves for this fundamental shift in the epidemic's demographics.

"Our society is not prepared for the aging baby boomer generation. We don't have enough geriatricians to care for the sharply rising number of seniors," Hill said. "We are even less prepared to care for populations with unique health care needs, such as HIV-positive older adults."

The GMHC study made several policy recommendations, including:
� Training doctors, nurses, social workers and others in the unique needs of HIV-positive elders.
� Doctors need to be more aggressive in questioning patients about sexual practices and testing for STDs, especially HIV. With the advent of Viagra and other erectile-dysfunctional medications, there has been a huge spike in male sexual activity among the elderly -- with a consequent rise in STDs.
��Home healthcare aids -- all-too often overlooked in discussions about medical professionals --�need to be trained in the particular needs of these patients. They also may need to be educated on sensitivity issues surrounding HIV.
� Providing home healthcare to this population is especially fraught. AIDS service organizations need to address the issue and work with private and public providers.