As a result of improving prescriptions and people seeking treatment sooner, the face of HIV in America is getting older and grayer. By 2015, 50 percent of Americans living with HIV will be at least 50, according to research estimates. But public-health and other advocates warn that older adults are less likely than their younger counterparts to be routinely tested for HIV, which can worsen their chances of getting the virus under control when it is finally diagnosed.
There’s also little research on the impact of HIV on the aging process and vice versa, experts say, leaving many with unanswered questions about what might lie ahead. “The good news is, HIV has gone from being an epidemic and almost-certain death sentence to a manageable chronic illness with a near-normal life expectancy,” said William J. Hardy, the president and CEO of the AIDS Resource Center Ohio, also known as ARC Ohio.
Although the number of HIV diagnoses has declined over the past decade, older adults are at higher risk of becoming infected than they ever have been. In Ohio, 26 percent of all new HIV diagnoses occur in people 45 or older, according to the Ohio Department of Health.
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HIV Prevention and Care Project 