More research needed
“These findings warrant further confirmation,” Dr. Wilson added. Future work could evaluate whether symptom clusters share etiology and how symptom clusters change over time. “We need to look at outcomes over time. Can we predict poorer outcomes, such as cardiac events, over time based on symptom clusters?”
Also, as part of HIV treatment success in recent years, “Our guidelines are moving people out further – if you’re undetectable sometimes you can come back at 6 months or 1 year.” The question, she said, is then: “Do we need to watch people with certain symptom clusters more closely?”
Limitations of the study include a lack of information on symptom causes and severity and its cross-sectional design.
‘Absolutely useful’
The study is “absolutely useful,” said session moderator Cheryl Netherly, an HIV nurse and clinical educator for CAN Community Health headquartered in Sarasota, Fla.
“One of the things that she mentioned was people with HIV, especially long-term HIV, they’re aging faster than the population without HIV. So, that is really important to look at.”
People living with HIV and dying from age-related comorbidities is something “we never thought would happen,” Ms. Netherly said. “Unfortunately, we’re now losing them to the different things like kidney issues, heart disease, and diabetes.”
The study was funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Dr. Wilson and Ms. Netherly disclosed no relevant financial relationships.
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.