Rates of newly diagnosed HIV increasing in over-50s

Conclusion This was a well-conducted study and the results are likely to be reliable, though there are some limitations, including missing data. For example, the researchers had no information on the migration status or CD4 count (an indicator for stage of the disease) for a quarter of cases. This study found that although the overall rate of infection is higher in younger people, this has remained stable over the last 12 years while the rate of infection in older people has increased. Some of the media stories focused on the finding that older people are most likely to have become infected through heterosexual sex. While true, this is nothing new: the rate of infection from heterosexual sex has in fact been stable for over-50s over the study period, whereas the rates of infection in men having sex with men and drug use have both increased for this age group. What makes further analysis of this trend difficult to interpret is the high proportion of people for whom "other" or "unknown" infection was recorded. The finding that older people were more likely to have a delayed diagnosis highlights the importance of HIV testing for people of all ages who are at risk of infection. What's of most concern is that the rates of infection remain high in all age groups despite public health campaigns about practising safe sex. HIV tests are free on the NHS and can be done in various places, including walk-in sexual health clinics. There are also home testing kit...
Source: NHS News Feed - Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Older people Source Type: news