In San Francisco, over half of those who have been diagnosed with AIDS are 50 years old or above, aidsmap reports. Reporting their findings in AIDS Care, researchers analyzed San Francisco’s HIV/AIDS case registry between 1990 and 2010.

They found that, by the close of 2010, there were 9,796 San Francisco residents living with AIDS. Among that group, 5,112 (52 percent) were 50 or older. In 1990, only 10 percent of those with an AIDS diagnosis were in that age group. The rate increased steadily across the years: to 24 percent in 2000, 38 percent in 2005 and 52 percent in 2010.

While 1990 saw 2,047 new AIDS diagnoses, by 2010 this figure had dropped to 331 new cases. In 1990, those living with AIDS in San Francisco had a median age of 38, with 48 percent between ages 35 and 44. By 2010, with the median age at 50, just 21 percent were between 35 and 44.

The authors stressed the new challenges facing an aging population:

“Older people with HIV/AIDS face both HIV/AIDS-related and age-related comorbidities, such as hypertension, chronic pain, hepatitis and arthritis, which are associated with poorer physical, mental and social well-being,” they wrote, saying that the study has “emphasized the need for research on the interaction of age and HIV infection and also the necessity for increased community support, caregivers and systems infrastructure.”

To read the aidsmap story, click here.

To read the study abstract, click here.