October 2011 meeting of the Advisory Committee for the Transgender Aging Advocacy Initiative, Washington, DC. Photo: Aaron Tax, SAGE.
many transgender older adults are living with HIV/AIDS, as well as the medical and other needs of older transgender people living with HIV/AIDS.37 Research shows that few healthcare providers screen for HIV among older adults (under the assumption that sexual activity diminishes with age), and few HIV prevention marketing materials are targeted at older adults. And as with the broader population, transgender elders with HIV include lifelong survivors, newly diagnosed and new infections; yet little research exists on the longitudinal effects of aging with HIV, the long-term effects of HAART (Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy), and its relationships to transgender-related treatment and general aging health concerns. Transgender older adults who do not visit healthcare providers on a regular basis can face health challenges from HIV infection, beyond the complications that all older adults with decreased immune system functions face. Transgender older adults will likely have delayed diagnosis of the infection due to delayed care seeking, which increases the likelihood of comorbidities related to other untreated or previously undiagnosed conditions. A delay in HIV testing also increases the likelihood of a dual diagnosis of HIV and AIDS. By the year 2015, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Population Reference Bureau. (2009). HIV and older adults in the United States. Today’s Research on Aging 18: 1-7; Fredriksen-Goldsen, et al. (2011). The aging and health report: Disparities and resilience among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender older adults; and Grant, J.M., et al. (2011). Injustice at every turn: A report of the national transgender discrimination survey.