HIV-Related Health and Quality of Life in Older Adults

The advent of combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) has transformed HIV into a chronic condition, extending life expectancy and resulting in a growing cohort of older adults with HIV. This demographic shift has revealed complex clinical and psychosocial challenges. Ageing people living with HIV face heightened risk of comorbid conditions—cardiovascular disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, renal impairment—and geriatric syndromes such as frailty, cognitive decline, falls and sensory deficits. Prolonged cART contributes to metabolic disturbances and polypharmacy, raising the potential for drug–drug interactions. Beyond physical health, older adults contend with stigma, loneliness and depression which undermine mental wellbeing and overall quality of life. Quality of life is influenced by social support, retention in care, and access to tailored services, including palliative care. Global epidemiological trends indicate a rising prevalence of HIV in older age groups, especially in low- and middle-income countries, with considerable regional disparity in service provision and health outcomes. There is a clear imperative for integrated, interdisciplinary models of care that address multimorbidity, functional capacity and psychosocial needs, ensuring that ageing with HIV is accompanied by supportive interventions across the health and social care continuum.

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HIV-Related Health and Quality of Life in Older Adults publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in hiv-related health and quality of life in older adults across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Combined antiretroviral therapy (cART): A regimen of multiple antiretroviral drugs used concurrently to suppress HIV replication and improve survival.

Polypharmacy: The concurrent use of multiple medications, increasing the risk of adverse drug interactions and side effects, particularly in older adults.

Frailty: A geriatric syndrome characterised by reduced physiological reserve and increased vulnerability to stressors, leading to higher risk of adverse health outcomes.

Comorbidity: The simultaneous presence of two or more chronic health conditions, common among older people living with HIV due to ageing and treatment effects.

Disability-adjusted life years (DALYs): A metric combining years of life lost due to premature mortality and years lived with disability, used to quantify disease burden.

References

1. HIV and an Ageing Population—What Are the Medical, Psychosocial, and Palliative Care Challenges in Healthcare Provisions. Microorganisms (2023).
2. The trend analysis of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections among the elderly aged 50 to 69 years from 1990 to 2030. Journal of Global Health (2024).
3. Understanding geriatric models of care for older adults living with HIV: a scoping review and qualitative analysis. BMC Geriatrics (2023).