HIV infection in elderly medical patients

Abstract

Objective: To determine the prevalence and presentation of HIV-infection among medical admissions aged 55 years and above. Design: Prospective cross-sectional study. Setting: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Subjects: Consecutive patients aged 55 years and above hospitalised in the medical wards of the Muhimbili Medical Centre in Dar es Salaam from February to May 1998. Results: The overall HIV-1 seroprevalence was 15.0% (38/253); and by sex it was 18.5% (28/ 151) among males compared to 9.8% (10/102) among females (p=0.06). The HIV-1 prevalence among those aged 55 to 59 years was 29.7%. There was no association between HIV-1 serostatus and whether one lived in a rural or urban area, marital status, level of education nor socio-economic status. The main presenting features in patients who were found to be HIV-1 seropositive were wasting 44.7%, fever 39.5%, pallor 34.2% and weight loss 31.6%. Only six (15.8%) of the 38 patients were initially suspected to have been HIV-infected before laboratory results were obtained. Conclusions: HIV-infection is a notable problem in the population of elderly medical admissions in Dar es Salaam. The possibility of HIV-infection should be considered among elderly patients with clinical features of immunodeficiency. HIV/AIDS prevention programmes directed towards the elderly should be established.