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Aging with HIV is a fairly new area of study. “People who are 50 and who have been living with HIV for a long time—their bodies may be, by some estimates, like that of a 60-year-old,” says Dr. Villanueva. They may develop cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and other conditions earlier than they would if they weren’t HIV-positive.

Dr. Virata says HIV is thought to cause a chronic inflammatory state in the body, which can accelerate aging. “We're trying to understand what the process is and figure out how we can address it,” he says.

Researchers are studying whether early interventions could decrease complications for patients as they grow older. Dr. Virata points to a large global study looking at the use of statins as an intervention. “It's a long-term study, but we're anxiously waiting to see what the results of that research project will show,” he says. Contributing to the problem, he says, is that some of the medications used to treat HIV can be toxic in the body.

More implementation science, research, and intervention strategies are needed, Dr. Barakat says. “We’re still learning about and determining the best strategies to enhance opportunities as far as testing and prevention.”