Disparities in Diagnoses of HIV Infection Between Blacks/African Americans and Other Racial/Ethnic Populations

Since early in the HIV epidemic, blacks/African Americans have been disproportionately affected, the report authors noted. Drawing on data from the National HIV Surveillance System, they estimated numbers, percentages and rates of HIV diagnoses in blacks/African Americans during 2005-08 and described the results of those analyses.

During 2005-08, blacks/African Americans accounted for 50.3 percent of HIV diagnoses in 37 states with mature HIV surveillance systems, despite representing just 13.6 percent of the population in these states. By comparison, whites accounted for 67.9 percent of the population and 29.4 percent of diagnoses, while Hispanics/Latinos accounted for 13.4 percent of the population and 17.8 percent of diagnoses.

Among males, black/African Americans represented the largest proportion (44.8 percent) of HIV diagnoses during 2005-08. Among females, black/African Americans accounted for most (65.9 percent) diagnoses, including a majority for the South (70.9 percent), Midwest (60.9 percent) and Northeast (60.0 percent). Blacks/African Americans comprised the largest proportion of HIV diagnoses in every age group.

By transmission category, among black/African-American males, male-to-male sexual contact was most frequently reported (61.1 percent), followed by heterosexual contact (23.1 percent), injection drug use (11.9 percent) and both IDU and male-to-male (3.6 percent). Among black/African-American females, most were exposed through heterosexual contact (85.2 percent), followed by IDU (14 percent).

Males ages 13-24 accounted for the largest proportion (30.9 percent) of HIV diagnoses among black/African-American males with infection attributed to male-to-male sexual contact, followed by males ages 25-34 (28.7 percent) and 35-44 (23.7 percent). Among black/African-American female diagnoses, the largest percentages were in those ages 35-44.

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