• African Americans account for a growing share of AIDS diagnoses over
time, rising from 25% of cases diagnosed in 1985 to 49% in 2003.
• African American women accounted for two-thirds (67%) of new AIDS cases among women in 2003;white women accounted for 15% and Latinas 16%.
• Among men who have sex with men (MSM), African Americans have been particularly hard hit. A study in 6 major U.S.cities found that almost a third (32%) of African American MSM ages 23–29 were already infected with HIV, compared to 7% of white MSM
• Deaths among African Americans with AIDS remained fairly stable between 1999 and 2003, but declined by 18% among whites over this period.
Fast Facts courtesy of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.
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What is HIV?
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What kind of treatment is available?
Women and Young People
African American women accounted for a greater proportion of new AIDS cases among African Americans overall in 2003 (36%) than white women did among all whites (14%). African American women accounted for two-thirds (67%) of new AIDS cases among women in 2003; white women accounted for 15% and Latinas 16%. Although African American teens (ages 13-19) represent only 15% of U.S. teenagers, they accounted for 65% of new AIDS cases reported among teens in 2002. A similar impact can be seen among African American children.
Although African Americans represent only 13% of the U.S. population, they account for 40% of the 929,985 AIDS cases diagnosed since the start of the epidemic and approximately half (49%) of the 43,171 cases diagnosed in 2003 alone. They also account for half of new HIV/AIDS diagnoses in 2003 in the 33 areas that have had integrated HIV and AIDS case surveillance since at least 1999. As of the end of 2003, an estimated 172,278 African Americans were living with AIDS, the highest number of any racial/ethnic group and 42% of the total. The AIDS case rate per 100,000 population among African American adults/adolescents was 10.4 times that of whites in 2003 . African-Americans accounted for 56% of deaths due to HIV in 2002 and their survival time after an AIDS diagnosis is lower on average than it is for other racial/ethnic groups. HIV was the third leading cause of death for African Americans, ages 25-34, in 2001, compared to the 6th leading cause of death for whites and Latinos in this age group. It ranks higher for some subpopulations- HIV was the #1 cause of death for African American women ages 25-34 in 2001.
