It doesn’t seem that long ago when AIDS was considered an almost certain death sentence. This was usually the case in the first two decades of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The development and use of newer drugs, however, moved the disease from one that usually led to death to a chronic condition that requires the consistent performance of self-management behaviors on the part of patients with HIV/AIDS. Despite these advances, however, there are many patients with the disease who do not perform the basic practices of safe sex. This was noted in a presentation at the Society of Behavioral Medicine in March by Travis Lovejoy and Tim Heckman. In their study, they found that one out of three sexually active older adults infected with HIV has unprotected sex. They surveyed 260 HIV-positive older adults and found that of those having sex, most were male, took Viagra and were in a relationship. AIDs cases among the over-50 crowd reached 90,000 in 2003. The findings that one-third of respondents practiced unsafe sex is disturbing because, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, they will account for half of all HIV/AIDS cases in the United States by 2015. This will occur because medical progress has extended the lifespan of those infected with HIV. In addition, drugs such as Viagra have made it possible for older adults to remain sexually active longer. The study also found that sexual activity was more prevalent among HIV-positive older adults who were not cognitively impaired, were younger and who considered their overall health to be good.

COMMENTS: Lovejoy and Heckman concluded that while many older adults with HIV are not sexually active, those who do have unprotected sex account for just 13 percent of the overall number of infected people who are aged 50 or older. However, one-third of those who are sexually active have unprotected sex, which suggests that prevention efforts may need to be more highly targeted toward these individuals. These findings suggest that the teaching, performance, and maintenance of self-management skills is not just for the young, but also for older adults with HIV/AIDS. This is particularly required considered the large number of patients expected to have the condition in only 8 short years. As suggested by the study of Lovejoy and Heckman, now is the time to act.

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Travis Lovejoy may be contacted at (503) 314-1182 or tl399805@ohio.edu. Tim Heckman can be contacted at (740) 597-1744 or heckmant@ohio.edu;