09/10/2026
Nearly Half of Patients with HIV soon to be Seniors
by Lola Affenback, McKnight’s Long-Term Care Living News, 9-9-26
Nearly half of patients with HIV soon to be Seniors
The long term care industry will soon be faced with a population shift quietly taking shape now: A growing number of adults living with HIV are living longer, potentially increasing demand for nursing home and long-term care services.
By 2040, nearly half of all adults living with diagnosed HIV in the US will be 65 years or older, according to new projections published on Friday in JAMA Network Open. The study predicts the median age of adults with diagnosed HIV will rise across 24 states from 51 in 2025 to 61 in 2040.
The number of people with diagnosed HIV who are at least 65 years of age also is projected to more than double to nearly 459,000 in 2040.
For long-term care providers, the shift raises a question the industry has previously had little reason to ask: Are nursing homes prepared to care for a rapidly growing number of older adults whose HIV will be part of increasingly complex medical and social needs?
McKnight’s Long-Term Care News last year explored where seniors living with HIV will turn for care as they age in an extensive series about the nursing home sector’s questionable readiness.
In the new study, researchers from Johns Hopkins University used a transmission model to project the age distribution of people with diagnosed HIV from 2025 to 2040 across 24 states.
More than half of people with diagnosed HIV were already at least 50 years old by the end of 2022. By 2040, 46% of adults with HIV are expected to be at least 65.
Those with HIV are at increased risk of cardiovascular, metabolic and kidney disease, as well as certain non-AIDS-defining cancers, and they are at greater risk of developing multiple comorbidities. They’re also often seen as more frail than peers of the same age without an HIV infection. Social factors and early-stage immunosuppressants can both play a role in what is effectively rapid aging.
That means providers will increasingly need to consider HIV alongside chronic conditions, functional needs and other health issues that already drive demand for skilled nursing and long-term care.
The study does not predict how many people living with HIV might enter nursing homes. However, its projections suggest that long-term care providers should expect more older adults with HIV to become a part of the population they serve.
That would require facilities to incorporate HIV management into broader geriatric care rather than treating it as a specialized issue outside of the scope of routine aging care.
Medication management is one consideration. Residents aging with HIV may require lifelong and expensive antiretroviral treatment while managing other age-related conditions.
Care teams will need the knowledge to coordinate those treatments alongside other medications common among older residents.
Beyond clinical care, researchers also recommend support for mental and cognitive health as well as services such as transportation, housing and peer support to reduce isolation and promote healthy aging.
