A new study suggests that HIV testing for people ages 55 to 74 would be cost-effective, MedPage Today reports (medpagetoday.com, 6/17). The study was published in the June 17 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends routine HIV testing for all Americans between the ages of 13 and 64. However, Gillian Sanders, PhD, of Duke University notes that some Americans remain sexually active from 65 onward and should be tested accordingly. According to the study authors, the benefits of testing seniors potentially outweighs the costs of testing and counseling.
“All of us need to remember that age doesn’t protect anyone from HIV,” Dr. Sanders told MedPage Today. “You’re as vulnerable at 60 as you are at 16.”
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Mark, NYC/Toronto, 2008-06-20 07:20:28
Absurdly misplaced priorities. You need to take away some money from prevention and make sure that everyone gets the meds and that we look harder for a real solution. I am tired of this biased stakeholder mentality putting pressure on people when it should on government and business. Why do the meds still cost so much? Why does healthcare lag behind profit and capitalism? A stark failure that is what capitalist drug companies are and hardly a source of enlightened research. Seniors, really!!!
kewlgem, Walnut Creek, CA., 2008-06-19 09:33:48
Excellent idea. Most seniors assume that their sexual partners are disease free and feel that only the young are promiscuous and vulnerable to aids. BUT Aids & STD's doesn't discriminate against age.
"I'm HIV positive and diabetic (as well as have high cholesterol) and some of my meds specify taking them with 'high fat foods' which I have to do twice a day. I've eaten as healthy as possible, but when it comes to high fat foods, I am in a quandary...about what to eat sometimes..."
