U.S. Study Shows an Increased Risk of Dementia in Men Aging With HIV

A recent U.S. study published in AIDS found HIV-positive men have a higher risk of dementia than their HIV-negative peers as they age, reports Aidsmap . The researchers analyzed retrospective data collected in the U.S. Veterans Health Administration System from 2005 to 2015. They included 1,114 veterans living with HIV at least 55 years old, and an equal number of HIV-negative veterans matched on age, sex, race, and substance use. In the group of 2,228 veterans, average age was 62.5 years at entry, with more than 98 percent of participants male, 52 percent non-Hispanic white, 38 percent non-Hispanic black, and 10 percent other. Health risk behaviors and noncommunicable diseases were common in the cohort at baseline, with 22 percent having a history of tobacco use, while about 18 percent had been diagnosed with alcohol/drug abuse; 17 percent diabetes, 34 percent high blood pressure, and 7 percent a history of stroke or transient ischemic attack. During the follow-up period of up to 11 years, 5.1 percent of cases of incident dementia were diagnosed among HIV-positive veterans, versus 3 percent among their HIV-negative counterparts. Out of the 57 cases affecting veterans with HIV, 19 percent were HIV-associated (HAD). Apart from HAD, the patterns of dementia subtypes, where recorded, were somewhat similar — four Alzheimer's disease (7 percent) and six vascular dementia (10 percent) in veterans with HIV versus four Alzheimer's disease (10 percent), six vascular dementia (18 percent), and two frontotemporal dementia in HIV-negative veterans.