• Benuel Nyagaka, Stanslaus Kiilu Musyoki, Lucy Karani, and Anthony Kebira Nyamache.
• School of health sciences, Kisii University, P.O Box 408-40200, Kisii, Kenya.
• Afr Health Sci. 2020 Dec 1; 20 (4): 153715451537-1545.

BackgroundA better understanding of the baseline characteristics of elderly people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) is relevant because the world's HIV population is ageing.ObjectivesThis study aimed to evaluate the baseline characteristics of PLWHA aged ≥ 50years at recruitment to HIV/AIDS clinic compared against the viral load (VL) and CD4 count among patients attending Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital (KTRH), Kenya.MethodsWe retrospectively evaluated temporal inclinations of CD4 levels, viral load change and baseline demographic characteristics in the electronic records at the hospital using a mixed error-component model for 1329 PLWHA attending clinic between January 2008 and December 2019.ResultsFindings showed a significant difference in the comparison between baseline VL and WHO AIDS staging (p=0.026). Overall VL levels decreased over the period significantly by WHO AIDS staging (p<0.0001). Significant difference was observed by gender (p<0.0001), across age groups (p<0.0001) and baseline CD4 counts (p=0.003). There were significant differences in WHO staging by CD4 count >200cell/mm3 (p=0.048) and residence (p=0.001).ConclusionAge, WHO AIDS staging, gender and residence are relevant parameters associated with viral load decline and CD4 count in elderly PLWHA. A noticeable VL suppression was attained confirming possible attainment of VL suppression among PLWHA under clinical care.© 2020 Nyagaka B et al.

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