Comorbidity is more common and occurs earlier in persons living with HIV than in HIV-uninfected matched controls, aged 50 years and older: A cross-sectional study

•Multimorbidity was more common in persons with HIV than in uninfected matched controls.•The difference was more pronounced in persons between 50 and 60 years of age.•The difference in multimorbidity was mainly driven by kidney, hepatic, and bone diseases.•The number of comorbid conditions per person was significantly higher in the HIV group.•Duration of HIV infection and time on antiretroviral were associated with increased comorbidities. At present, data are limited on the comorbidity profiles associated with aging people with HIV in the developing world, where most such people live. The aim of this study was to compare the disease burden between older HIV-positive subjects and HIV-negative matched controls in Brazil. This was a cross-sectional analysis of the South Brazilian HIV Cohort. Individuals aged 50 years and older were enrolled at Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre and matched with HIV-negative controls from the primary practice unit of the same hospital. Multimorbidity (the presence of two or more comorbid conditions) and the number of non-infectious comorbidities were compared. Poisson regression was used to identify factors associated with multimorbidity. A total of 208 HIV-positive subjects were matched to 208 HIV-negative controls. Overall, the median age was 57 years and 56% were male. The prevalence of multimorbidity was higher in HIV-positive subjects than in HIV-negative controls (63% vs. 43%, p