Aging Black Men Living with HIV: How Poor Mental Health, Social Issues, Lifestyle Factors, and Multimorbidity Interrelate

The health emergency for aging Black men living with HIV is preventing and managing multimorbidity (i.e., cardiovascular disease), which develops at a greater rate and more accelerated or accentuated pace relative to the general aging HIV-uninfected population.Conditions confronting aging Black men living with HIV are associated with poor mental health (i.e., depression) being driven by or interacting with health-related biopsychosocial determinants, including social issues (i.e., inadequate social support), negative lifestyle factors (i.e., substance use), and existing morbidities.Compared to the age-matched uninfected adults, it may be even more difficult for older Black men living with HIV suffering from multimorbidity to improve mental health to the extent that their behaviors could support preventing and managing multiple diseases.Challenges to providing mental health services to this aging HIV-positive subpopulation involve their mistrust of the healthcare system; for example, trusting that healthcare practitioners can competently, with empathy, address social issues underpinning or interacting with poor mental health.Research and program designs must focus on how to engage best and maintain older HIV-positive Black men in mental health services.Due to the disproportionate number and severity of social issues, negative lifestyle factors, and morbidities linked to poor mental health in aging Black men living with HIV, compared to their non-Hispanic White counterparts, this paper focuses on the psychological health concerns among older HIV-positive Black men.