Older Americans at risk to HIV infections -
National Institute of Health


Embargoed for use                                   Contact:  Vicky Cahan, NIA
January 9, 
1994, 3:00 p.m. CST                                               301/496-1752

                                                            Marilyn Weeks,NIMH

                                                            301/443-4536

OLDER AMERICANS AT RISK OF HIV INFECTION TAKE FEW PRECAUTIONS

      While human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is  clearly present  
among Americans age 50 and older, many people at high risk in that age group 
take few precautions against infection, according to a new study by scientists 
at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).  

      The study, supported by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and the 
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), components of the National 
Institutes of Health, found that older, at-risk heterosexual individuals are 
one sixth as likely to use condoms during sex and one fifth as likely to have 
been tested for HIV when compared with a group of people in their 20s who take 
the same risks.  The findings, say scientists from the Institutes, point to the 
need for including at-risk older Americans in AIDS education programs and for 
improving communication between health care providers and patients about aging 
and sexuality.

      Older Americans account for 10 percent of all acquired immunodeficiency 
syndrome (AIDS) cases nationwide.  The proportion of cases attributed to 
heterosexual contact is among the highest of any age group.  But there has been 
little research on behavioral risk among older people.  Ron Stall, Ph.D., and 
Joe Catania, Ph.D., of the Center for AIDS Prevention Studies at UCSF, analyzed 
data from the National AIDS Behavioral Surveys taken in 1990 and 1991. The data 
are among the first to look at risk behaviors among those 50 and older, and 
show that the most prevalent types of behavioral risks reported in this age 
group were having multiple sexual partners, having a partner with a known 
behavioral risk, and having a blood transfusion between 1979 
and 1985.

      Marcia G. Ory, Ph.D., Chief, Social Science Research on Aging, NIA, and 
Ellen L. Stover, Ph.D., Director, Office on AIDS, NIMH, are available at the 
above telephone numbers for interviews on AIDS and older people.  In addition, 
the NIA has a free fact sheet on AIDS and older adults, available to the public 
by calling toll free
1-800-222-2225;  TTY 1-800-222-4225.

      The study appears in the current issue of the Archives of Internal 
Medicine.

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