Monitor Your Overall Health

Monitor Your Overall Health

As more older people are becoming infected with HIV, more HIV-positive people are reaching older age, and more middle-age HIV-positive people are experiencing diseases of aging, many of the medical problems facing HIV-positive people have more to do with diseases of aging than HIV-related illnesses.

Starting HIV treatment before your CD4 cell count falls to 350 cuts the risk of HIV-related and non-HIV-related illnesses. Recent US treatment guidelines recommend that people start HIV treatment even earlier, when their CD4 cells are between 350 and 500.

Many older people are already taking medications for age-related ailments. It is important to know if HIV drugs can interact with these medications, such as those used for high blood pressure or high cholesterol, and you should speak to your health care provider about possible drug interactions.

Another important step is to get regular medical checkups that look for:

• Heart disease: For good heart health, HIV-positive people should talk with their health care providers about monitoring cholesterol levels and blood pressure. Also consider heart-protective habits such as exercising, quitting smoking, and eating a healthy diet.
• Cancers: It is also important to get cancer screening for several non-AIDS conditions that commonly affect HIV-positive people (such as cervical and anal cancer) and for common cancers that do not appear to occur more frequently in HIV-positive people (including breast, colon, and prostate cancer).
• Bone problems: An easy and painless test called DEXA scanning can help you and your health care provider monitor your bone health and determine if you're at risk for a serious fracture. Vitamin D and calcium supplements might be recommended and prescription medications to help reverse bone loss are also available.

You should also be monitored for cognitive problems (changes in thinking or memory), liver disease, kidney disease, metabolic and body shape abnormalities, diabetes, and mental health issues, including depression.