HIV/AIDS in the Puerto Rican Elderly: Immunological Changes between Gender and Body Mass Index

Purpose. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the elderly population has serious repercussions. The elderly are underdiagnosed for HIV and the costs associated with their late-stage care represent a financial burden to the public health system. The purpose is to analyze various profiles among a cohort of elderly patients with HIV/AIDS. Methods. This is a baseline cohort 60 years or older seen in the Retrovirus Research Center between January 2000 to December 2011. We present the profiles of our cohort stratified by gender and body mass index viewed as a covariate of interest. Results. A total of 266 people (68% males and 32% females) seen at the Center were older than 60 years of age. Males were significantly more often overweight (p<.05). Females were significantly more underweight with chronic conditions (p<.05). Women had higher CD4 count and lower HIV viral loads (p<.05). Underweight elderly males were more heavily affected with the burden of HIV infection compared with women.