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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comments 1 - 2 (of 2 total)
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.
Beth Benne, RN, is HIV negative, but
the virus has impacted her life. She currently supervises a biannual HIV/AIDS awareness week as
the director of the student health center at Pierce College, a
community commuter school in Woodland Hills, California.
Woman of the Month is supported by exclusive advertising from Gilead.
Overheard in the Women's Forum
"I recently met a guy who is negative. I did tell him about my status and he decided to kiss me anyway (we didn't go further than that). But a day later, he called and said that he actually had a mouth ulcer that time when we kissed and he was very worried. Asked if he can get the virus from me that way. For that moment, I felt so insulted and yet I felt so bad. It was my first time having a contact with a "negative" guy."
