Mental Health and Substance Abuse in Older HIV Infected Adults, Are we as a Community Prepared?

National HIV/AIDS and AGING AWARENESS DAY * SEPTEMBER 18, 2014

Aging: The New Challenge 

Source AIDS.gov

At the start of the epidemic, people who were diagnosed with HIV/AIDS could expect to live only 1-2 years after that diagnosis. This meant that the issues of aging were not a major focus for people with HIV disease.
But new medications and treatments have changed that. Life expectancy for people with HIV disease has increased dramatically—which means that they now have to face the challenges of aging with HIV/AIDS.
Normal aging is associated with risks for many different conditions, from osteoporosis to heart disease, but having HIV can increase those risks. Some illnesses or conditions which can be worsened by aging and HIV (or treatments for it) include:

• Dementia
• Depression
• Insulin resistance
• High cholesterol and triglycerides
• Infections
• Medication interactions

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Mental Health and Substance Abuse in Older HIV Infected Adults, Are we as a Community Prepared?

What I'm not reading enough on or being talked about is mental health and substance abuse in older HIV infected adults.

 As a consumer on SSDI and living in a major metropolitan area my clinic Callen-Lorde has opened a new building to keep up with the demand for all with HIV/AIDS living with chronic mental health issues, I'm fortunate to have this, but as you get away from the bigger cities, these services are not readily available and if you find them many are not LGBT affirmative keeping many away from being properly diagnosed.  Thanks to local chapters of (NAMI) National Alliance on Mental Illness and (DBSA) Depression Bipolar Support Alliance the gap does have some resources.  In Brooklyn we are fortunate to have the only LGBT Outpatient facility in the nation called Rainbow Heights Club, we need a Rainbow Heights in each state, we need trained LGBT hospice care workers, our community at large to me has been dormant on the issue of mental illness in the gay community as a whole, so I'm hoping that the emphasis on HIV/AIDS and aging awareness now in it's 7th year, coupled by the Affordable Care Act and the Mental Health Parity Act we will see more long term mental health GLBT affirmative facilities in the existing AIDS service organizations pop up.

 

In the News today :

I did find one Op-Ed in the Advocate, a good read but with very little or should I say not once did I read the word mental illness, I did read, "Like other seniors, many older persons living with HIV also have other common diseases, such as heart disease and diabetes. Living with multiple health conditions can be very challenging both physically and emotionally."  And another mention, "When you couple that with the stigma that some older LGBT people face when they move into senior living communities, it can be a difficult psychological burden," for the entire article read here.

For more resources on  Mental Health and Substance Abuse in Older HIV Infected Adults:

HIV, Psychiatric Comorbidity, and Aging

Thu, 01/17/08 - 04:18

Authors: 

Julia L. Skapik, BS, and Glenn J. Treisman, MD, PhD

Read complete article:

http://www.consultant360.com/articles/hiv-psychiatric-comorbidity-and-aging

Psychosocial, mental health, and behavioral issues of aging with HIV
http://www.natap.org/2014/HIVAGE/061614_02.htm

Psychosocial, mental health, and behavioral issues of aging with HIV  Rueda, Sergio^a,b,c; Law, Stephanie^d; Rourke, Sean B.^a,b,e

http://journals.lww.com/co-hivandaids/Abstract/2014/07000/Psychosocial,_mental_health,_and_behavioral_issues.7.aspx

 

Aging with HIV and AIDS: A growing social issue

Date:

June 25, 2014

Source:

St. Michael's Hospital

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/06/140625132443.htm

ASA, American Society on Aging (source)

Mental Health and Substance Abuse in Older HIV Infected Adults, by Lisa Cox

http://www.asaging.org/blog/mental-health-and-substance-abuse-older-hiv-infected-adults