A Multidimensional Assessment of Successful Aging Among Older People Living with HIV in Palm Springs, California.

We assessed successful aging among older people living with HIV (PLWH) compared with older people without HIV. One hundred ten older men and women in Palm Springs, California completed a self-administered 28-question survey, which collected data on physiological and psychosocial factors related to successfully aging with HIV, including demographics, HIV status, sexual activity, health and well-being, experiences of stigma or discrimination, feelings of isolation, receipt of disability benefits, work and volunteer participation, and presence of comorbid infectious diseases, noninfectious diseases, and geriatric syndromes. Most participants were male (96.4%), non-Hispanic white (84.5%), college educated (61.7%), and ranged in age from 55 to 87 years (median = 64 years). Respondents with HIV were significantly older than those without HIV (p = .04). The overall prevalence of two or more comorbid conditions across the sample was 59.1%. PLWH were more likely to report depression (p = .008). PLWH were also significantly more likely to report having a current sex partner living with HIV (p < .001) and receiving disability benefits than people without HIV (41.9% vs. 6.3%). Among PLWH, there was a significant relationship between not working or volunteering and feelings of isolation (p = .005). For people without HIV, we found a significant relationship between feelings of isolation and not living with someone (p < .001), but there was no such relationship among PLWH-possibly reflecting the strength of the support network for PLWH in Palm Springs. Our findings suggest that older PLWH experience successful aging to a similar degree compared with their peers without HIV. However, depression and social isolation remain highly salient issues that threaten successful aging and with which PLWH must contend.

Altered Immunity and Microbial Dysbiosis in Aged Individuals With Long-Term Controlled HIV Infection.

The introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) resulted in a significant increase in life expectancy for HIV patients. Indeed, in 2015, 45% of the HIV+ individuals in the United States were ≥55 years of age. Despite improvements in diagnosis and treatment of HIV infection, geriatric HIV+ patients suffer from higher incidence of comorbidities compared to age-matched HIV- individuals. Both chronic inflammation and dysbiosis of the gut microbiome are believed to be major contributors to this phenomenon, however carefully controlled studies investigating the impact of long-term (>10 years) controlled HIV (LTC-HIV) infection are lacking. To address this question, we profiled circulating immune cells, immune mediators, and the gut microbiome from elderly (≥55 years old) LTC-HIV+ and HIV- gay men living in the Palm Springs area. LTC-HIV+ individuals had lower frequency of circulating monocytes and CD4+ T-cells, and increased frequency CD8+ T-cells. Moreover, levels of systemic INFγ and several growth factors were increased while levels of IL-2 and several chemokines were reduced. Upon stimulation, immune cells from LTC-HIV+ individuals produced higher levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Last but not least, the gut microbiome of LTC-HIV+ individuals was enriched in bacterial taxa typically found in the oral cavity suggestive of loss of compartmentalization, while levels of beneficial butyrate producing taxa were reduced. Additionally, prevalence of Prevotella negatively correlated with CD4+ T-cells numbers in LTC-HIV+ individuals. These results indicate that despite long-term adherence and undetectable viral loads, LTC-HIV infection results in significant shifts in immune cell frequencies and gut microbial communities.