RESUMEN
OBJECTIVES: To describe the clinical presentation of HIV disease in older patients. METHODS: In the period 1989-1996 we reviewed the medical records of 100 patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection aged 50 years or older and, 197 controls among HIV-infected patients aged 15-40 years, who attended six institutions in the autonomous community of Valencia (Spain). RESULTS: Older patients were mostly males (86%), men who have sex with men (42%) or unknown (20%) as exposure categories. Older patients had lower CD4 cell counts/mm3 (163+/-136 vs. 450+/-373, P= 0.008), and had AIDS at first evaluation (49% vs. 29%, P = 0.0006) compared with younger patients. For patients presenting with AIDS at HIV infection diagnosis, type and frequency of AIDS indicator diseases did not differ between older and younger patients. CONCLUSION: Studies on clues for early detection of HIV infection in patients aged 50 years or older are urgently needed to improve the health care in this population.