HIV & Aging

Recent studies show that symptoms of COVID-19 can persist for months after the infection, regardless of disease severity. Even in a young and healthy population with mild initial symptoms, 1 in 3 reported persistent symptoms at 30 and 45 days (known as “long COVID”). Given the substantial overlap between the social determinants of health for HIV and for COVID-19 infections, there is a critical need to understand how long COVID may affect people living with HIV. Whether this population is at heightened risk for prolonged and severe disease is still understudied. 

Brookdale Center for Healthy Aging has partnered with Amida Care, a managed care special needs plan for people with or at risk for HIV, to conduct a web-based survey among plan members who have tested positive for COVID. This study aims to characterize the prevalence of COVID-19 symptoms and their impact on quality of life for people living with HIV and explore differences between study participants with and without HIV. The study also seeks to determine how age, race/ethnicity, and other factors are related to long-term symptoms and impact of COVID-19.

Our initial findings were presented at the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting and Expo (November 2023, Atlanta, GA).  Participants’ mean age was 45.4 years (SD=11.9) and most were Black or Latinx (43.7% and 39.4%, respectively), while 31.7% had inadequate incomes and 77.5% were HIV-positive. Long COVID symptoms of 6 months or more were reported by 45.8% (M=4.8, SD=7.8). The most frequent symptoms were fatigue (19%), muscle aches/bone or joint pain (19.7%), brain fog (20.4%) and neck/back pain (21.8%). Multiple regression analysis found the number of long COVID symptoms lasting 6 months or more was significantly associated with inadequate incomes and comorbidities (cardiac problems, cancer, fibromyalgia). Race/ethnicity and HIV serostatus were not associated with long COVID; the small size of the comparator groups for these variables is a limitation. In conclusion we found that people with low SES and health comorbidities are more likely to experience long COVID. Providers serving patients with a history of COVID should screen for long COVID symptoms and offer treatment as available. A copy of this presentation is available here.

Dr. Mark Brennan-Ing, director of research and evaluation at Brookdale, and Dr. Jerome Ernst, chief medical officer at Amida Care, are the Principal Investigators in this study, which is funded by Gilead Sciences.