Speaking Out for a Group Once Unheard-Of: Aging With AIDS

By KAREN BARROW - Published: November 11, 2008, NY Times In the developed worlds, AIDS has become a chronic condition to be managed but a diagnosis still comes with its own challenges. ---- In fact, 29 percent of those infected with H.I.V. are over 50. And because the immune system deteriorates with age, the virus is all the more aggressive in older people. Moreover, conditions that are often part of the aging process, like arthritis and dementia, can also be caused by H.I.V. So sorting through symptoms and effectively treating them — not to mention avoiding dangerous drug interactions — can be daunting. There is also an alarming rate of infection among older Americans. In 2005, 15 percent of new H.I.V. and AIDS diagnoses were among people over the age of 50, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Yet government recommendations call for routine AIDS screening only up to age 64, omitting the elderly population.