Prevalence of Frailty and Association with the Immune Profile Among Older Adults with HIV at a University-Affiliated Hospital

Background: The number of older adults living with HIV (OALHIV) has increased significantly; several similarities have been found between aging and HIV infection. Patients with HIV can present with premature complications that are only observed in chronological aging, this is called Geriatrics Syndromes (GS). The immune profile (e. g. absolute CD4+ T cells/µL count, absolute CD8+ T cells/µL count, and viral load) has become relevant as a predictor of negative outcomes in the context of HIV infection. The association between frailty and the status of immune system in elderly adults with HIV is not clear. Objectives: To determine the prevalence of frailty and its association with immune profile (IP) (absolute CD4+ T cells/µL count, absolute CD8+ T cells/µL count, and viral load) in OALHIV and attending HIV-AIDS clinics at a university-affiliated hospital in Mexico. Methods: Cross-sectional study in participants OALHIV, recruited in a two-year period (January 2015 and January 2017). Participants underwent a comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) and diagnosis of frailty and IP was obtained. A multivariate linear regression analysis was determined to establish the association between Immunological Profile and Frailty Score (FS). Results: We included 116 subjects; mean age was 56 years (SD ± 6), women accounted for 20%. Overall, 14% were frail. After adjustment, linear regression analyses showed that baseline IP model did not influenced in variance of the FS. Conclusions: This study shows that the prevalence of frailty is 14% in the studied population OALHIV. The combination of IP variables cannot account for the variation in the dependent variable (FS).