Skip to main content
PMC home page
Journal of the National Medical Association logoLink to Journal of the National Medical Association
. 1998 Jun;90(6):369–373.

A characterization of older AIDS patients in Maryland.

A K Wutoh 1, J Hidalgo 1, W Rhee 1, J Bareta 1
PMCID: PMC2568238  PMID: 9640908

Abstract

This retrospective study evaluated Maryland acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients who were > or = 50 years at the time of AIDS diagnosis. All patients diagnosed between January 1987 and June 1996 who were > 50 years were included in the cohort. A total of 610 male (82.7%) and 128 female (17.3%) AIDS patients aged > or = 50 were identified. The most common mode of human immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV) transmission was male-to-male sexual contact (34.7%). Additionally, 146 (19.8%) patients contracted HIV through blood transfusions, 93 (12.1%) were infected through heterosexual contact, 134 (18.6) were infected through i.v. drug abuse, and the remaining 109 (14.8%) had unknown risk factors. Data from this preliminary study demonstrate that an alarming percentage of AIDS patients (approximately 10%) in Maryland are aged > or = 50. Sexual contact, either male-to-male or heterosexual transmission, was the route of transmission for nearly 47% of this patient population. However, few research projects, educational programs, or public health initiatives are specifically targeted to this patient population. The increasing life expectancy of AIDS patients as well as the advent of new drug treatments highlights the need for further research to investigate the diagnosis and treatment of AIDS and HIV infection among older patients.

Full text

PDF
369

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Collier A. C., Coombs R. W., Schoenfeld D. A., Bassett R. L., Timpone J., Baruch A., Jones M., Facey K., Whitacre C., McAuliffe V. J. Treatment of human immunodeficiency virus infection with saquinavir, zidovudine, and zalcitabine. AIDS Clinical Trials Group. N Engl J Med. 1996 Apr 18;334(16):1011–1017. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199604183341602. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Gordon S. M., Thompson S. The changing epidemiology of human immunodeficiency virus infection in older persons. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1995 Jan;43(1):7–9. doi: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.1995.tb06234.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Kahn J. O., Lagakos S. W., Richman D. D., Cross A., Pettinelli C., Liou S. H., Brown M., Volberding P. A., Crumpacker C. S., Beall G. A controlled trial comparing continued zidovudine with didanosine in human immunodeficiency virus infection. The NIAID AIDS Clinical Trials Group. N Engl J Med. 1992 Aug 27;327(9):581–587. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199208273270901. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Kitchen V. S., Skinner C., Ariyoshi K., Lane E. A., Duncan I. B., Burckhardt J., Burger H. U., Bragman K., Pinching A. J., Weber J. N. Safety and activity of saquinavir in HIV infection. Lancet. 1995 Apr 15;345(8955):952–955. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(95)90699-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Markowitz M., Saag M., Powderly W. G., Hurley A. M., Hsu A., Valdes J. M., Henry D., Sattler F., La Marca A., Leonard J. M. A preliminary study of ritonavir, an inhibitor of HIV-1 protease, to treat HIV-1 infection. N Engl J Med. 1995 Dec 7;333(23):1534–1539. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199512073332204. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Moore R. D., Bartlett J. G. Combination antiretroviral therapy in HIV infection. An economic perspective. Pharmacoeconomics. 1996 Aug;10(2):109–113. doi: 10.2165/00019053-199610020-00002. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Moore R. D., Hidalgo J., Bareta J. C., Chaisson R. E. Zidovudine therapy and health resource utilization in AIDS. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 1994 Apr;7(4):349–354. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Moore R. D., Hidalgo J., Sugland B. W., Chaisson R. E. Zidovudine and the natural history of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. N Engl J Med. 1991 May 16;324(20):1412–1416. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199105163242006. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Phillips P. No plateau for HIV/AIDS epidemic in US women. JAMA. 1997 Jun 11;277(22):1747-8, 1749. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Salom I. L., Davis K. Prescribing for older patients: how to avoid toxic drug reactions. Geriatrics. 1995 Oct;50(10):37-40, 43; discussion 44-5. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Salzman C. Medication compliance in the elderly. J Clin Psychiatry. 1995;56 (Suppl 1):18–23. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Skiest D. J., Rubinstien E., Carley N., Gioiella L., Lyons R. The importance of comorbidity in HIV-infected patients over 55: a retrospective case-control study. Am J Med. 1996 Dec;101(6):605–611. doi: 10.1016/S0002-9343(96)00329-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Stall R., Catania J. AIDS risk behaviors among late middle-aged and elderly Americans. The National AIDS Behavioral Surveys. Arch Intern Med. 1994 Jan 10;154(1):57–63. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Stein B. E. Avoiding drug reactions: seven steps to writing safe prescriptions. Geriatrics. 1994 Sep;49(9):28-30, 33-6. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of the National Medical Association are provided here courtesy of National Medical Association

RESOURCES