HIV and Accelerated Aging: Stay Tuned

Recent studies suggest that HIV-positive patients have an increased risk for conditions typically associated with aging (JW AIDS Clin Care Nov 14 2011). The latest such study — presented at AIDS 2012 — describes the prevalence of what the authors term “age-associated non-communicable comorbidity” (AANCC) among HIV-positive and HIV-negative individuals aged ≥45 years in the Netherlands [Schouten J et al. Abstract THAB0205].

A total of 489 HIV-positive patients were recruited from an HIV clinic, and 452 HIV-negative individuals were recruited from a sexual health clinic. The HIV-positive patients had been infected for a median of 12 years and had a mean CD4 count of 573 cells/mm³ and a median nadir CD4 count of 210 cells/mm³; 85% had an undete…