Table 1.
Demographic, lifestyle and HIV‐related characteristics of people living with HIV (PLWH) ≥ 50 and < 50 years old, and HIV‐negative study participants ≥ 50 years old at enrolment
| Variable | PLWH ≥ 50 years (n = 637) | PLWH < 50 years (n = 340) | P 1 | HIV‐negative ≥ 50 years (n = 276) | P 2 | P 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gender | 0.001 | < 0.001 | < 0.001 | |||
| Male | 564 (88.5) | 275 (80.9) | 180 (65.2) | |||
| Female | 73 (11.5) | 65 (19.1) | 96 (34.8) | |||
| Age (years) | 56 (53, 62) | 43 (37, 47) | < 0.001 | 58 (53, 63) | 0.11 | < 0.001 |
| Ethnicity | 0.002 | 0.13 | 0.001 | |||
| Black African | 77 (12.1) | 66 (19.4) | 24 (8.7) | |||
| White | 560 (87.9) | 274 (80.6) | 252 (91.3) | |||
| Country of birth | < 0.001 | 0.41 | < 0.001 | |||
| UK/Ireland | 446 (70.0) | 173 (50.9) | 207 (75.0) | |||
| Rest of Europe | 41 (6.4) | 54 (15.9) | 15 (5.4) | |||
| Africa | 111 (17.4) | 78 (22.9) | 37 (13.4) | |||
| Rest of the world | 39 (6.1) | 35 (10.3) | 17 (6.2) | |||
| Sexual orientation | 0.007 | < 0.001 | < 0.001 | |||
| MSM/homosexual | 509 (79.9) | 246 (72.4) | 138 (50.0) | |||
| Heterosexual | 128 (20.1) | 94 (27.6) | 138 (50.0) | |||
| Education | 0.34 | 0.05 | 0.12 | |||
| No qualifications | 63 (9.9) | 22 (6.5) | 14 (5.1) | |||
| O levels/GCSEs | 93 (14.6) | 54 (15.9) | 37 (13.4) | |||
| A levels | 82 (12.9) | 52 (15.3) | 35 (12.7) | |||
| University | 258 (40.5) | 142 (41.8) | 109 (39.5) | |||
| Other/not known | 141 (22.1) | 70 (20.6) | 81 (29.4) | |||
| Marital status | 0.002 | < 0.001 | < 0.001 | |||
| Single | 301 (47.3) | 174 (51.2) | 83 (29.6) | |||
| Married/in a relationship | 269 (42.2) | 154 (45.3) | 149 (54.0) | |||
| Divorced | 43 (7.1) | 7 (2.1) | 32 (11.6) | |||
| Widow/widower | 22 (3.5) | 5 (1.5) | 12 (4.4) | |||
| Alcohol consumption | 0.35 | 0.007 | 0.08 | |||
| Never consumed | 46 (7.2) | 29 (8.5) | 14 (5.1) | |||
| Previously consumed only | 84 (13.2) | 35 (10.3) | 19 (6.9) | |||
| Currently consuming | 507 (79.6) | 276 (81.2) | 243 (88.0) | |||
| If current/previous consumption | ||||||
| Years drinking | 39 (35, 45) | 25 (19, 30) | < 0.001 | 41 (36, 46) | 0.04 | < 0.001 |
| Units/week | 8 (3, 18) | 6 (2, 16) | 0.08 | 10 (3, 20) | 0.35 | 0.02 |
| Smoking status | 0.002 | 0.03 | < 0.001 | |||
| Never smoked | 247 (39.0) | 145 (42.9) | 123 (44.7) | |||
| Ex‐smoker | 242 (38.2) | 93 (27.5) | 110 (40.0) | |||
| Current smoker | 145 (22.9) | 100 (29.6) | 42 (15.3) | |||
| If current/ex‐smoker | ||||||
| Years smoked | 33 (20, 39) | 21 (14, 27) | < 0.001 | 29 (16, 38) | 0.009 | < 0.001 |
| Cigarettes per day | 11 (5, 20) | 10 (5, 15) | 0.02 | 10 (3, 20) | 0.32 | 0.76 |
| Ever injected drugs | 59 (9.3) | 46 (13.6) | 0.04 | 6 (2.2) | < 0.001 | < 0.001 |
| Recreational drugs | 164 (25.8) | 116 (34.1) | 0.006 | 42 (15.2) | < 0.001 | < 0.001 |
| Depressive symptoms | 0.36 | < 0.001 | < 0.001 | |||
| None | 303 (51.8) | 172 (54.8) | 214 (82.0) | |||
| Mild | 126 (21.5) | 75 (23.9) | 27 (10.3) | |||
| Moderate | 84 (14.4) | 36 (11.5) | 12 (4.6) | |||
| Severe | 72 (12.3) | 31 (9.9) | 8 (3.1) | |||
| Duration of HIV infection (years) | 16.0 (10.1, 22.4) | 9.6 (5.4, 15.2) | < 0.001 | NA | NA | NA |
| CD4 T‐cell count (cells/μL) | 620 (470, 799) | 654 (490, 833) | 0.20 | NA | NA | NA |
| CD4 T‐cell % | 31 (24, 38) | 33 (26, 39) | 0.01 | NA | NA | NA |
| Nadir CD4 count (cells/μL) | 180 (85, 270) | 258 (158, 384) | < 0.001 | NA | NA | NA |
| On ART | 631 (99.1) | 325 (95.6) | < 0.001 | NA | NA | NA |
| HIV RNA < 50 copies/mL | 586 (92.3) | 290 (85.8) | 0.001 | NA | NA | NA |
Values are n (%) or median (interquartile range). P 1: test comparing PLWH ≥ 50 years and PLWH < 50 years; P 2: test comparing PLWH ≥ 50 years and HIV‐negative individuals ≥ 50 years; P 3: test comparing PLWH < 50 years and HIV‐negative individuals ≥ 50 years.ART, antiretroviral therapy; GCSE, General Certificate of Secondary Education; MSM, men who have sex with men; NA, not applicable.