Adults Aged ≥50 Years Reached by the CDC's HIV Programs Including HIV Testing, PrEP Referrals, and Linkage to Care in the United States, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands, 2019-2022.

INTRODUCTION

Older adults (defined as adults who are 50 and over) accounted for 1 in 6 persons newly diagnosed with HIV in 2022. The objectives of this analysis were to present the most currently available data about older adults reached by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) HIV programs.

METHODS

From 2019 through 2022, CDC funded 61 health departments and 160 community-based organizations in the United States and Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands to provide HIV testing, preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) referrals, and linkage to HIV medical care and report on their program outcomes to CDC. We conducted descriptive analysis and multivariable robust Poisson regression analysis to assess the association between demographic characteristics and outcomes of HIV tests among older adults.

RESULTS

Between 2019 and 2022, the percentage of CDC-funded HIV tests provided to older adults increased (16.9% in 2019, 17.3% in 2020, 18.3% in 2021, and 18.4% in 2022). In 2022, older adults accounted for 11% of new diagnoses. Among those (876), 779 people had linkage data, and of those, 579 (74.1%) were linked to HIV medical care within 30 days after diagnosis. Of those older adults with a negative test result and available data, 90,422 (41.3%) were eligible for a PrEP referral and 39,382 (44.3%) were referred to a PrEP provider.

DISCUSSION: Continued efforts are needed to provide focused HIV prevention messaging specifically for older adults and to make available relevant information about HIV to health care providers.