A goal of The Aging Suite is to help educate people about health issues and topics that impact the aging population.  One such topic is HIV/AIDS.  Thanks to improved medications, today people with HIV/AIDS have longer life expectancies.  However, as they age, the virus can impact various systems in the body, affecting their functioning at home and thus their ability to remain living in their home, aka aging in place.

HIV’s impact on the body of an older person:

•  There’s a higher incidence of osteoporosis and osteonecrosis in people with HIV which may be caused by the virus or the   medications used to treat it

•  The Virus can cause peripheral neuropathy which can be due to drugs used to treat the virus or the virus infecting nerve cells

•  Dementia due to HIV

December 1st was World AIDS day.  It’s estimated that more than 25 million people have died of AIDS since 1981.  HIV/AIDS clearly has a huge global impact.  The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), published worldwide statistics on HIV and AIDS in November of 2009.

HIV/AIDS in the older population

According to a 2008 report released by the CDC, the number of people aged 50 years and older living with HIV/AIDS has been increasing.  In

2005 people 50 and older accounted for

• 15% of newly diagnosed HIV/AIDS cases
• 24% of people living with HIV/AIDS
• 35% of all deaths of people with AIDS
• The incidence of HIV/AIDS among people 50 and older is 12 greater among blacks and 5 times greater among his Hispanics

Join us next week as we talk more about HIV/AIDS in the older population.

Source:

aidsinfonet.org and the CDC

Picture Source:  MaxiAids.com

Peripheral neuropathy is nerve damage in the arms, hands, legs, and feet and can be a complication of HIV and diabetes.  Symptoms can include:  Numbness or tingling in the hands.  These symptoms can make simple daily activities, such as cooking more challenging.  All of us need to be careful that we don’t burn ourselves when cooking, in particular, those who may suffer from numbness in their fingers.  You can purchase heat resistant, non slip pot handle grips that can be easily slipped on over your pot handles.  They can be purchased through websites such as MaxiAids.com and Hearmore.com for about $7.