The HIV prevalence in older men who have sex with men in Western & Central Europe and North America—a meta-analysis

Abstract

The age of patients living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is increasing and the greatest proportion of aged HIV patients occurred in Western and Central Europe and North America (WCENA). In aged HIV patients in WCENA, older MSM is the main population. The aim of our study was to evaluate the HIV prevalence in older MSM in WCENA. A meta-analysis was conducted. We searched Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, Web of Science, Cochrane library, Ageline databases, and government websites. Studies that estimated HIV prevalence in older MSM in WCENA were selected. The pooled HIV prevalence and odds ratio (OR) of the risk of living with HIV in older MSM were calculated. In total of 23000 records were initially records were identified and 12 records were included. The total sample size of older MSM was 6118. The pooled HIV prevalence in older MSM in WCENA was 26% (95% CI 18%–33%), which was much higher than that in younger MSM (18%, 95% CI 14%–21%). Notably, the HIV prevalence in older MSM has been continuously increasing in the past two decades in WCENA, raising from 16% to 33%. The pooled OR for older MSM to be living with HIV was 1.68 compared to younger MSM. The HIV prevalence in older MSM in WCENA is disproportionately high, with a continuously increasing trend in the past two decades. Older MSM also carry significantly higher risk of living with HIV than younger MSM.