OBJECTIVE:
to describe the characteristics of people living with HIV/AIDS aged 60 years or more, monitored by a Specialized Care Service (SAE) in the city of Pelotas, Brazil.
METHODS:
a descriptive study was conducted using medical records from a SAE at the Federal University of Pelotas and compulsory notification forms stored by the municipal Epidemiological Surveillance Service between 1998 and 2013.
RESULTS:
the sample consisted of 142 elderly people aged 60-83, 58.5% were male, 88.7% White, 58,9% with up to 4 years of schooling; 85.0% were infected with HIV through heterosexual intercourse, 58.9% were aged under 60 at diagnosis and 82.4% were probably infected before age 60.
CONCLUSION:
most infections occurred through sexual intercourse before the patients were 60; preventive efforts need to take this outcome into account.
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome; Aged; Epidemiology, Descriptive