FRAGILITY IN PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV IN SALVADOR-BAHIA, BRAZIL
Frailty, HIV, AIDS, Aging
Background: Frailty is associated to an increased probability of serious adverse health outcomes such falls, disability, hospitalizations and death in geriatric general population. Although there are data suggesting it is more prevalence on older human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) populations, the dimensions of this problem among younger patients is almost unknown around the world and unknown in Brazil. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and factors associated with frailty.
Methods: This is a cross-sectional study, that is part of the Brazilian Cohort of HIV AIDS (CoBRAH) developed between March and November of 2018, included patients aged 18 years or older. Frailty phenotype was assessed by original five Fried criteria; Data was analized using descriptive statistics, and the factors related to frailty were identified using multinomial logistic regression.
Results
All but two patient were on antiretroviral therapy. Median age was 45.6 years (range 36.7 to 52.1 years), 136 (58.9%) were male, and 86.7% self‐identified as black or racially mixed. Mean CD4count was 660 (±345) cells/mm3, 83, 5% had undetectable HIV plasma viral load (<50 copies/mL). Prevalence of frailty and pre‐frailty was 10.4% and 52.4 %, respectively. female sex (OR: 8.01, 95% CI: 2.44 – 26.38, p=0.001), partial functional impairment (OR: 5.97, 95% CI: 1.44 – 24.69, p=0.014), depression (OR=21.29, 95% CI: 5.75 – 79.57, p=<0.001) and Darunavir current use (OR= 18.69, 95% CI: 2.47 – 141.26, p=0.005) were associated with frail status. The following variables were also associated with pre frail status: female sex (OR=1.95,95% CI: 1.03 -3.69 p=0.04), partial functional impairment (OR=2.45, 95% CI: 1.30 4.60, p=0.006), depression (OR=4.29, 95% CI: 1.66 – 11.07, p=0.003) and Darunavir current use (OR=5.36, 95% CI: 1.09 – 26.3, p=0.04).
Conclusions: We found a high frailty prevalence in HIV patients that increases with age. Our results demonstrate that frailty is an important health problem of ageing HIV patients and requires strategies to its early detection, prevention and management.