INTRODUCTION: AIDS among older adults is a public health problem emerging. This study compared the demographic and epidemiological profile and the evolution and trend of the epidemic among men and women aged 50 years and older and 20 to 39 years affected by AIDS in the State of Espirito Santo, Brazil. METHODS: We conducted a time serie study with secondary data from SINAN/AIDS for the period January 1991 to December 2006. RESULTS: In this period were 3,382 reported cases of AIDS in individuals aged 20 to 39 years and 551 cases among individuals with 50 years or older. In both age groups most affected are men. There are differences related to race or color, where the majority of the older is white (45.3% - p-value = 0.044) and the young brown (44.7%, p = 0.003). Illiteracy prevails among the older (17.7% - p-value = 0.001). More than half (80%) of the notifications occurred in cities of medium to large. The main risk factor was heterosexual in both the age groups more frequently to the group of 50 or more (77.3% - p = 0.0001). The cumulative incidence is higher for the age group 20 to 39 years (R² = 0.68), but is increasing proportionally between the two bands over the years, with a significant upward trend for both (p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The AIDS epidemic among the elderly can be seen growing among older on the Espirito Santo State.
Public health; Epidemiology; Aging; AIDS
