Studies show hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, dementia, renal disease, thin bones and cancer, occur frequently in older persons with HIV....CONTINUE READING
Every day after Davies Kanah takes his ARV pill, he must take more pills to control blood sugar, high blood pressure and arthritis.
The 65-year-old grandfather is a well-known HIV patients’ advocate, who was among the first to found a treatment lobby in Kenya.
“There are also many required medical tests for these complications and most of the time they are either missing or not consistent in public hospitals,” he said.
The good news is that Kenyans on HIV treatment, such as Davies, can live as long as their HIV-negative peers.
The bad news? With this longevity come health challenges that Kenya’s healthcare system isn’t prepared to address.
Dr Lazarus Momanyi, a medical doctor currently working with the National Aids and STI Control Programme (Nascop), explained that age, HIV itself and ARVs eventually weaken the body, making old people susceptible to non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
“HIV itself impairs immunity, age itself impairs immunity so as you age your immunity is double impaired,” he said. “Hypertension (high blood pressure) is the commonest co-commobidity for people living with HIV.”
He said even when viral loads are suppressed, people with HIV develop NCDs earlier and more frequently than negative people.
Many studies around the world also confirm although people with HIV have the same life expectancy as HIV-negative people, they have far fewer years in good health.
The studies show hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, dementia, renal disease, thin bones and cancer, occur frequently in older persons with HIV.
Fifty years is considered the beginning of old age for those with HIV, Dr Momanyi said.
He advised people living with HIV should undergo annual screening for NCDs, but most of them do not because the costs are paid out-of-pocket.
“This means people are being diagnosed late when they have complications and treatment is costly,” he said on Wednesday at the ongoing National Maisha HIV/Aids conference in Mombasa.
The meeting is organised by the Ministry of Health through the National Syndemic Diseases Control Council and its partners.
“If people go for screening we can pick out some of these complications and stop them early.”
Momanyi said 68 per cent of all Kenyans on HIV treatment are aged above 35 years and 27 per cent are 50 years and above.
“An estimated 883,694 of the 1.4 million people living with HIV are aged between 35 and 74 years, many of them diagnosed in their younger years,” he said.
LAZARUS MOMANYI:
“HIV itself impairs immunity, age itself impairs immunity so as you age your immunity is double impaired. Hypertension (high blood pressure) is the commonest co-commodity for people living with HIV (PLHIV).”
Dr Jude Otogo, the executive director for the non-profit Regional Centre on Healthy Ageing, said Kenya is poorly prepared to tackle NCDs in old people living with HIV.
“WHO has guidelines for the management of healthcare for older persons (50 years plus). As a country we haven’t prepared to effectively manage the challenge of HIV and the population that is ageing. We should adopt the WHO integrated care guidelines for ageing persons,” he said.
He said most old people with HIV also suffer pill burden (polypharmacy) – using more than five different drugs a day.
“Some of the drugs alleviate side-effects of ARVs. Many are also taking drugs for comorbidities such as arthritis and diabetes,” he said.
“Polypharmacy leads to poor quality of life. It reduces muscle strength and impacts psychosocial welfare.”
He said ARVs also affect the body’s absorption of many other drugs, especially those used to control blood sugar and regulate fat in the body.
“When visiting health facilities, HIV patients should carry all drugs for pharmacists to see if there’s drug-drug interaction,” he said.
The State Department for Social Protection said there is no specific social security programme targeting old people with HIV.
Charity Kiilu, head of senior citizen affairs at the department, said the government’s definition of old people begins at 60 years, not 50.
She said Kenya has 2.7 million people above 60 years, according to the 2019 national census.
“We deal with older persons as a block but now we’ll work with NSDCC to reach those living with HIV. We usually don’t ask older person if you have HIV,” she said.
The government pays Sh2,000 every month to Kenyans above 70 years, who are not on pension…CONTINUE READING>>
