One-Year Frailty Transitions Among Persons With HIV Aged 70 Years or Older on Antiretroviral Treatment

Background: People with HIV (PWH) are aging. Frailty is an age-related condition predictive of hospitalization and mortality. Here, we assessed the frequency and factors associated with frailty transitions at 1-year follow-up in elderly PWH.

Methods: Five hundred eight PWH aged 70 years or older who were on antiretroviral treatment were included in the French multicenter SEPTAVIH study in 2019-2020. Participants were classified as robust, prefrail, or frail according to Fried frailty phenotype at baseline and at 1 year. Logistic regression models were used to evaluate socioeconomic and medical factors associated with transition between frailty states. Models were adjusted for gender, age at baseline, education, and period of HIV diagnosis (before vs after 1996).

Results: Seventeen PWH died during the 1-year follow-up. Of the remaining 491 PWH (median age, 73 years), frailty status worsened for 18% of participants and improved for 14% at 1 year. Advanced age, baseline CD4+ T-cell count <350 cells/mm³, and type 2 diabetes were associated with transition from prefrailty to frailty (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.10 per 1-year positive difference; 95% CI, 1.01-1.20; aOR, 3.05; 95% CI, 1.14-8.18; and aOR, 2.63; 95% CI, 1.05-6.57; respectively). Being female was associated with more frequent improvement from prefrailty to robustness (aOR, 2.50; 95% CI, 1.09-5.55).

Conclusions: Preventing frailty in elderly PWH is a long-term problem, beginning with the early diagnosis of HIV infection and the management of comorbidities.