Aging With HIV

Living with HIV today is very different than living with HIV 10 years ago. So much has changed in prevention, care, and treatment for the better. Now that HIV can be controlled with medicine (called antiretroviral therapy/ART), people are less likely to die from HIV-related infections. Newer, more effective medicines also prevent passing the virus to partners during sex while keeping an undetectable viral load. HIV has changed from a fatal disease to a manageable, chronic illness.

People with HIV are living longer, healthier lives. The number of older adults (age 50 and older) living with HIV is increasing. Some people were diagnosed young and have been living with HIV for years, while others were diagnosed with HIV later in life. Although thousands of older adults find out they have HIV each year, there are still many who are living with HIV and don’t know it.

Getting older comes with its own health complications, further complicating HIV treatment plans for people with HIV. Older adults have increased rates of age-related illnesses and conditions such as heart disease, certain cancers, bone fractures, loss of muscle mass, dementia, and kidney disease. Combining HIV medicines with other medicines for age-related conditions may cause serious drug interactions and side effects.

If you’re experiencing side effects from medicines used to treat HIV or other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), contact your medical provider or the health professionals at the NJ AIDS/HIV/STD Hotline. The hotline is available 24/7: Call: 1-800-624-2377; Chat Here

Although aging adults visit their medical providers more often, they may feel more stigmatized when talking about their sexual preferences and activities. Providers may be less likely to test older adults for HIV and other STIs and ask about their current or past drug. Like young people, older adults are less likely to use condoms while having sex because they underestimate their risk of infection.

Breaking stigmas around aging, drug use, and sexual preferences and activities will encourage open and honest conversations between patients and health providers. Many older adults have active sex lives, but don’t know the options available for HIV and STI prevention, testing, and treatment. Older adults who do not have HIV (HIV-negative) should talk to their medical providers about proven prevention options like PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) and PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis) to reduce new HIV infections.

Get Tested. Start Treatment. Stop HIV.

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This release was written by the NJ AIDS/HIV/STD Hotline