Disability among adults with diagnosed HIV in the United States, 2017

ABSTRACT

In the United States, one in four adults is living with a disability. Age-related changes, disease-related pathology and treatments can place a person with HIV at risk for a disability. We analyzed nationally representative data to describe disability status among adults ≥18 years with diagnosed HIV in the United States and Puerto Rico by demographic characteristics, health behaviors, quality of care, clinical outcomes and mental health status. We reported weighted percentages and prevalence ratios with predicted marginal means to evaluate significant differences between groups (P < .05). Overall, 44.5% reported any disability; the most frequently reported disabilities were related to mobility (24.8%) and cognition (23.9%). Persons who lived in households at or below the poverty level or who experienced homelessness in the last 12 months reported a higher prevalence of any disability than persons who were not poor or not homeless (60.2% vs. 33.4% and 61.8% vs. 42.8%, respectively). Prevalence of depression and anxiety was higher among persons with any disability compared with those with no disability (32.8% and 26.6% versus 10.1% and 7.0%, respectively). Enhancing support from clinicians and ancillary providers may help optimize long-term health outcomes among HIV-positive persons with disabilities.

KEYWORDS:

• Disability
• depression
• Smoking
• HIV infection

Acknowledgements

Participating Medical Monitoring Project respondents, advisory boards, and project areas.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Disclaimer

The findings and conclusions in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention.