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Strengths and limitations the main author. C.L.-C. was the primary supervisor and
M.E. the secondary supervisor. All authors commented on
Most previous studies in the field of OPLWH have defined them drafts of the article and approved the final version to be
to be aged ≥ 50 years. However, seeing as assumptions of life published.
expectancy without HIV and total fertility rates were estimated
to be 61.5 years for males and 67.7 years for females in 2019, it
13
was imperative to assess older age groups and exclude those still Funding information
eligible to work for future planning of care interventions for This research received no specific grant from any funding
these individuals. This is one of the first local studies to use this agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
novel approach. Also, a paucity of data was available on the
subject in the NWP according to the researcher’s knowledge, Data availability statement
and this is the first study to begin to address this gap. Most
previous studies published about OPLWH have compared their Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no new data
response since ART initiation to younger cohorts. The current were created or analysed in this study.
study did not address this. The sample was chosen conveniently
and thus could have introduced selection bias. Also, the Disclaimer
retrospective design has disadvantages. Previous prospective
studies on the subject could compare baseline characteristics The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of
and outcomes in terms of ART initiation and follow-up. This the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or
approach was not possible in the current study due to time position of any affiliated agency of the authors.
constraints in terms of data collection, and there were many
missing data (e.g. files and blood results) which could have References
influenced study findings. The sample size was small and this
could perhaps be seen as a pilot study for future studies in 1. UN.World Population Ageing 2019: Highlights (ST/ESA/SER.A/430) [homepage on
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patient numbers and the exclusion of a more rural cohort. PopulationAgeing2019-Highlights.pdf
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