A Cross-sectional Examination of HIV, Aging, and Chronic Health Conditions Among Gay and Bisexual Men
Date
2020
Authors
Card, Kiffer G.
Lachowsky, Nathan J.
Armstrong, Heather L.
Cui, Zishan
Sereda, Paul
Dickie, Chad
Howard, Terry
Roth, Eric A.
Hogg, Robert S.
Moore, David
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Journal of Men's Health
Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between HIV status and the presence of chronic
health conditions among gay and bisexual men (gbMSM). Most existing on this topic studies fail to account
for behavioral factors—such as smoking and alcohol consumption—or focus on the general population
without attention to the unique circumstances of gbMSM.
Methods: Sexually active gbMSM, aged >16 years, were recruited using respondent-driven sampling (RDS) between
February 2012 and February 2015. HIV serology confirmed the HIV status. Chronic health conditions
were classified into one of six broader categories (i.e., cardiovascular, cancer, gastrointestinal, respiratory,
mental health, and other). Logistic regression models tested whether HIV status was associated with any of
the six categories. All these models used an interaction term between HIV status and age, and adjusted for
race/ethnicity, annual income, body mass index, daily smoking, and “risky drinking”.
Results: Overall, 223 HIV-positive gbMSM and 551 HIV-negative gbMSM reported histories of cardiovascular
disease (16.1%), cancer (5.1%), gastrointestinal illness (7.2%), respiratory problems (16.1%), mental health
conditions (49.2%), and “other” co-/morbidities (13.1%). Compared with older HIV-negative gbMSM,
those with HIV were more likely to report cardiovascular (aOR=1.15, 95% CI:1.07, 1.24) and respiratory
(aOR = 1.08, 95% CI:1.02, 1.14) disease. There were no differences by HIV status for other co-/morbidities.
Conclusion: Findings support the need for increased resources focused on aging, HIV, and cardiovascular and respiratory
health among gbMSM aging with HIV.
Description
The authors would like to thank the Momentum
Health Study participants, office staff, and community
advisory board, as well as our community partner
agencies, Health Initiative for Men, YouthCO
HIV & Hep C Society, and Positive Living Society
of BC.
Keywords
aging, comorbidities, chronic health, gay and bisexual men, people living with HIV
Citation
Card, K. G., Lachowsky, N. J., Armstrong, H. L., Cui, Z., Sereda, P., Dickie, C., Howard, T., Roth, E. A., Hogg, R. S., & Moore, D. M. (2020). “A Cross-sectional Examination of HIV, Aging, and Chronic Health Conditions Among Gay and Bisexual Men.” Journal of Men's Health, 16(3), E60-E74. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15586/jomh.v16i3.164