Epidemiological, clinical and evolutionary aspects of HIV and AIDS

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) remain a global public health problem with socio-economic impact.HIV is a pathogen that targets the immune system, thereby weakening it. The result is opportunistic diseases, notably infectious, inflammatory and tumoral.HIV infection spares no segment of the population. Its onset in the elderly can take on more serious or particular forms, due to the weakness already engendered by age.Old age occurs earlier in HIV-infected patients. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), a person living with HIV is considered to be elderly from the age of 50.According to the scientific literature, the accelerated aging of PLWHA is reflected in deteriorating health and the appearance of comorbidities, the most common of which are joint, bone and metabolic disorders, heart disease, cancer, hypertension and neurocognitive disorders.