How Hypertension Rates and HIV Treatment Outcomes Compare between Older Females and Males Enrolled in an HIV Treatment Program in Southern Nigeria: A Retrospective Analysis

Studies show that treatment outcomes may vary among persons living with HIV. To fast-track the attainment of epidemic control across gender and age groups, the Accelerating Control of the HIV Epidemic (ACE-5) Project implemented in Akwa Ibom and Cross Rivers States, Nigeria, examined the hypertension rates and treatment outcomes of older adults living with HIV. The demographic and treatment characteristics of males and females ≥ 50 years living with HIV, who initiated antiretroviral therapy (ART) as of September 2021, were abstracted from medical records across 154 health facilities and community sites in Akwa Ibom and Cross River states, Nigeria. We compared these characteristics by sex using the chi-square test. The log-rank test was used to compare differences in their retention (i.e., being on treatment) and viral suppression (VS) rates [<1000 copies/Ml] in September 2022. Of the 16,420 older adults living with HIV (10.8% of the treatment cohort) at the time of the study, 53.8%, and 99.5% were on a first-line ART regimen. Among the 3585 with baseline CD4 documented (21.8% of the cohort), the median [IQR] CD4 count was 496 [286–699] cells/mm(3), with more males having lower baseline CD4 than females [13.4% of males vs. 10.2% of females, p-value = 0.004]. In total, 59.9% received treatment at out-of-facility locations, with more males receiving treatment in this setting than females [65.7% vs. 54.8% p-value < 0.001]. Of those in whom blood pressure was assessed (65.9% of the treatment cohort), 9.6% were hypertensive, with males being less likely to be hypertensive [8.0% vs. 11.1% p-value < 0.001] than females. Overall, retention as of September 2022 was 96.4%, while VS was 99.0% and did not differ significantly by sex [retention: p = 0.901; VS: p = 0.056]. VS was slightly but not significantly higher among females than males (98.8% versus 99.2%; Aor = 0.79, 95%CI = 0.58–1.10, p = 0.17). Although older males and females living with HIV had similar treatment outcomes, hypertension screening was suboptimal and could impact long-term morbidity and mortality. Our study emphasizes the need to integrate noncommunicable disease screening and the management of hypertension in the care of older persons living with HIV.