National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day, September 18, 2009

Statement of Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Richard J. Hodes, M.D., Director, National Institute on Aging, and Jack Whitescarver, Ph.D., Director, NIH Office of AIDS Research, National Institutes of Health

HIV/AIDS began its deadly course in the United States mostly as a disease of young men, but today the epidemic touches people of all ages, including adults aged 50 and older. On September 18, the first National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day, we pause to recognize the importance of preventing HIV infection in this age group and understanding and addressing the unique health effects of the virus on older Americans.

Thanks to the advent of potent, multi-drug therapy against HIV in the mid-1990s, many HIV-infected Americans are living into their 50s and well beyond. Also, while the majority of new HIV infections are in younger Americans, individuals 50 years of age and older accounted for approximately 10 percent of all new HIV infections in the United States in 2006.¹ As a consequence of these trends, approximately one quarter of HIV-infected adults in the United States in 2007 were at least 50 years old.²

Older adults with long-term or new HIV infection experience complex interactions among HIV, antiretroviral therapy, age-related changes to the body, and, often, treatment for illnesses associated with aging. These interactions affect the health care needs and quality of life of older adults. It is imperative that we in the research community decipher the medical implications of aging with HIV and continue developing more sophisticated treatment approaches so these older adults can live longer, healthier lives.