Older people increasingly infected - report

There is evidence that older people are increasingly being infected by HIV/AIDS, according to a new UNAIDS report.

According to the report - "Impact of HIV/AIDS on older populations" - older women appear to have higher incidence of infection than older men, with the number of new cases among women having increased by 40 percent during the past 5 years.

Despite 83 percent of all AIDS deaths occurring in sub-Saharan Africa, very little was known about the epidemiology of HIV/AIDS among older people in this region, the report said.

According to the fact sheet, the United States' Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that age accelerated the progress of HIV to AIDS and blunted CD4 cell response to antiretroviral therapy. Age-related conditions such as osteoporosis, also increased the risk of severe complications, the report added.

Women also went through physical changes with age that affected their vulnerability to HIV/AIDS. In the post-menopausal stage, their vaginal walls were thinner and lubrication was often reduced, the fact sheet said.

Early symptoms of HIV infection were often mistaken for signs of ageing, preventing those infected from seeking medical help, it added.

Age stereotypes were a trap that health workers fell into. "Health care workers are less likely to ask older patients about their sexual behaviour and do not provide the prevention information they would routinely offer younger patients," the report said.

Prevention education campaigns targeted youth, consequently there were few effective strategies for the older population group.

Changes in the family structure from the death of young parents, left grandparents with the responsibility of providing economic support and psychosocial care to orphaned children, without any assistance from governments, the fact sheet said.

The fact sheet has been prepared for the Second World Assembly on Ageing, which runs from 8-12 April in Madrid, Spain.

For more information:
http://www.unaids.org/fact_sheets/files/FSolder_en.html