I was just talking to a friend who is a social worker. And she said HIV rates are rising in elderly populations. They only used condoms for contraception not protection and so now that they are past menopause (for women) they see no reason to use them and HIV is transmitted. It was interesting to hear.
Increasing HIV rates
10/03/2012
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I heard that as well. I wonder if being elderly increases the rate of progression from HIV to AIDS.
10/04/2012
I've heard that as well. Some nursing homes actually have STI problems because a lot of patients don't use contraception
10/04/2012
I just found a few articles on this problem. It's a confirmed issue: the elderly (age 50+) are at higher risk of HIV than younger folks are.
Taken from one of the links: "When people think of those populations most impacted by HIV/AIDS, older persons are often the last to come to mind. However, older people are at increasing risk for HIV/AIDS and other STDs. A growing number of older people now have HIV/AIDS. People age 50 and older represent almost one-fourth of all people with HIV/AIDS in the U.S. Because older people don't get tested for HIV/AIDS on a regular basis, there may be even more cases than currently known.
Many factors contribute to the increasing risk of infection in older people. In general, older Americans know less about HIV/AIDS and STDs than younger age groups because the elderly have been neglected by those responsible for education and prevention messages. In addition, older people are less likely than younger people to talk about their sex lives or drug use with their doctors, and doctors don't tend to ask their older patients about sex or drug use. Finally, older people often mistake the symptoms of HIV/AIDS for the aches and pains of normal aging, so they are less likely to get tested."
link and link
Taken from one of the links: "When people think of those populations most impacted by HIV/AIDS, older persons are often the last to come to mind. However, older people are at increasing risk for HIV/AIDS and other STDs. A growing number of older people now have HIV/AIDS. People age 50 and older represent almost one-fourth of all people with HIV/AIDS in the U.S. Because older people don't get tested for HIV/AIDS on a regular basis, there may be even more cases than currently known.
Many factors contribute to the increasing risk of infection in older people. In general, older Americans know less about HIV/AIDS and STDs than younger age groups because the elderly have been neglected by those responsible for education and prevention messages. In addition, older people are less likely than younger people to talk about their sex lives or drug use with their doctors, and doctors don't tend to ask their older patients about sex or drug use. Finally, older people often mistake the symptoms of HIV/AIDS for the aches and pains of normal aging, so they are less likely to get tested."
link and link
10/13/2012
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