Relative rates of AIDS among racial/ethnic groups by exposure categories

The relative rates of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) were calculated among racial/ethnic populations using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention HIV (human immunodeficiency virus)/Surveillance reports assuming that racial/ethnic distributions reflect that of the US Census Data from 1990. For comparison, a rate of 1 was assigned to whites in each calculation. The overall relative rates were whites--1, African Americans--4.7, Hispanics--3, Asian/Pacific Islanders--0.4, and Native Americans--0.5. Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome surveillance data show higher rates of AIDS for African Americans and Hispanics compared with whites, Asians/Pacific Islanders, and Native Americans. The relative rates for African Americans and Hispanics compared with whites were highest for injecting drug users, heterosexual contact, and pediatric patients. These results led us to explore possible explanations for increased AIDS reporting in African Americans and Hispanics. We then explored available national datasets regarding those variables. The analyses indicate that variables such as access and receptivity to HIV prevention and treatment efforts, race/ethnicity, sexual behaviors, sexually transmitted diseases, socioeconomic status, and substance abuse interact in a complex fashion to influence HIV transmission and progression to AIDS in affected communities.