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14th Annual Conference of the British HIV Association23–25 April 2008, Belfast |
HIV AND AGEING
HIV Med 2008; 9(Suppl. 1):6 (abstract no. O19)
J Elford1, F Ibrahim1, C Bukutu1 and J Anderson2
1City University, London, UK, 2Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
BACKGROUND: This paper examines some of the characteristics of people living with HIV in London who are over the age of fifty.
METHODS: Patients with HIV infection attending NHS outpatient clinics in north east London between June 2004 and June 2005 were asked to complete a confidential, self-administered questionnaire.
RESULTS: Thousand six hundred and eighty seven people with diagnosed HIV returned a completed questionnaire (response rate 73% of eligible clinic attenders) including 758 gay/bisexual men (464 white, 112 ethnic minority), 480 black African heterosexual women and 224 black African heterosexual men. Just over ten percent of the whole sample (184/1687, 10.9%) were aged 50 years or above at the time of the survey; gay men 13.1% (99/758), black African heterosexual men 8.5% (19/224), black African heterosexual women 6.9% (33/480) (p<0.01). Forty percent of the over 50s were diagnosed with HIV in their 50s (40.3%, 71/176, data missing for eight respondents), 44.9%, (79/176) between 40 and 49 years of age, and 26 (14.8%) under the age of 40. Older people were more likely to report a lower CD4 count at diagnosis (p<0.01). Older people were also more likely to be on HAART; this differential remained significant after controlling for CD4 count at diagnosis and number of years since diagnosis (e.g. gay men, adjusted odds ratio 1.05, 95% CI 1.01, 1.09, p=0.01).
CONCLUSIONS: In this study of people living with diagnosed HIV in London, just over ten percent were over the age of 50. Nearly half the over 50s were diagnosed in their 50s highlighting that this group does not solely comprise an ageing cohort of people diagnosed with HIV in their 30s and 40s.
2008-04-23
O19
Copyright © 2008 - British HIV Association (BHIVA) Reproduction of this abstract (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the BHIVA Organising Secretariat 1 Mountview Court, 310 Friern Barnet Lane, London N20 0LD