Edited by Gary Geyer
Nearly 10 percent (9.5) of AIDS cases in the U.S. female population are said to be in women older than age 50; and, numbers of cases are expected to increase, as women of all ages survive longer due to improved drug therapy and other treatment advances.
How many?
In the last decade, AIDS cases in women over 50 were reported to have tripled. But, because not all U.S. states report HIV infections, it is impossible to know how many older American women are HIV-infected, but not diagnosed with AIDS.
Older women have higher incidence than older men.
“Older women,” according to UNAIDS, “appear to have higher incidence than older men, and during a recent 5-year period, the number of new cases in this group increased by 40 percent.”
African- American and Hispanic.
“More than half of the infected over 50 are of African-American and Hispanic origin, indicating greater risks among minority groups.”
There is no doubt that older women of color have higher rates of both HIV infections and diagnosed cases of AIDS.
Invisibility.
While all older individuals with HIV infection or AIDS usually are invisible, isolated and ignored, this is particularly true of women, who are often unable to disclose their HIV status even to family and friends and, certainly, not their community.
Risk factors.
Despite myths and stereotypes, many senior women are sexually active, and, some are drug users; therefore, their behaviors can put them at risk for HIV infection.
Misdiagnoses and age-related weakened immune systems.
Most women (and all older persons) are first diagnosed with HIV at a late stage of infection, and often become ill with AIDS-related complications and die sooner than their younger counterparts; these deaths can be attributed to original misdiagnoses and immune systems that naturally weaken with age.
Missing from the message.
HIV/AIDS educational campaigns and programs are mostly targeted to younger people and do nothing that recognizes those older. (This is usually the case in all advertising and promotional messages).
Difficulty in determining.
Rates of HIV infection (not AIDS) in all seniors, including women, are especially difficult to determine because older people are not routinely tested.
The double stigma.
Older people, especially women, with HIV/AIDS face a double stigma: ageism and infection with a sexually or drug-injecting transmitted disease; in addition, they are sensitive to a cultural attitude that assumes: “Elderly people have lived their lives — so what if they die from AIDS?”
Unfamiliar with prevention methods.
Seniors of both sexes are unlikely to consistently use condoms during sex because of a generational mindset and unfamiliarity with HIV/STD prevention methods.
After menopause.
For older women, there are special considerations: after menopause, condom use for birth control becomes unimportant, and normal aging changes such as a decrease in vaginal lubrication and thinning vaginal walls can put them at higher risk during unprotected sexual intercourse.
Age symptoms confused with HIV symptoms.
As HIV symptoms often are similar to those associated with aging (fatigue, weight loss, dementia, skin rashes, swollen lymph nodes), misdiagnosis is frequent in older women/people who are, in fact, infected.
“Why waste money on the elderly/”
Women and older males may confront social and professional bias regarding the allocation of limited health care services and resources available to the AIDS community (i.e., “why waste money on the elderly?”)
Loss equals depression.
Because the aging process itself lowers energy levels and results in restrictions in social routines which can cause emotional/psychological problems, the older woman/adult additionally infected with HIV may feel another “loss” and endure more severe depression.
The lack-of-support syndrome.
Senior women often are less likely to find support and comfort among family and friends, and because they are traditionally not comfortable in support groups, they may be less inclined to join them, citing lack of shared experiences concerning different issues.
The sin of omission.
Due to the general lack of awareness of HIV/AIDS in older adults — in particular, women — this segment of the population, for the most part, has been omitted from research, clinical drug trials, educational prevention programs and intervention efforts. <<
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