Epidemiology of HIV among Youth

Key Statistics on Adolescent HIV/AIDS

• Although youth aged 13-24 account for only 13% of reported cases of HIV/AIDS,1 it is estimated that young people in this age group actually account for between 25% to 50% of new HIV infections each year. Because it is believed that many HIV-infected youth have not been tested, reported cases may underrepresent the true extent of infection among youth.
• Among youth, most HIV transmission occurs via sexual exposure.2
  • HIV Transmission among Young HIV-Infected Males
    • Sexual contact with other men: 76%
    • High-risk heterosexual contact: 11.5%
    • Injection drug use: 7.5%
    • Sexual contact with other men and injection drug use: 4.5%
    • Other (including perinatal infection): 0.5%
  • HIV Transmission among Young HIV-Infected Females
    • High-risk heterosexual contact: 85%
    • Injection drug use: 14%
    • Other (including perinatal infection): 1%
• Blacks/African Americans account for 55% of all HIV infections reported among youth.1
• Young men who have sex with men (YMSM), particularly minority YMSM, are at high risk of HIV infection. The CDC's Young Men's Survey found that 14% of Black/African American YMSM and 7% of Latino YMSM aged 15-22 were infected with HIV.3
• The proportion of HIV infections among Blacks/African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders, and American Indians/Alaska Natives (AI/ANs) resulting from high-risk heterosexual contact is more than twice that of non-Hispanic whites.4
• Injection drug users are at high risk of HIV infection, and the prevalence of transmission resulting from injection drug use is more than twice as high among Blacks/African Americans and Latinos than among non-Hispanic whites.4

Although recent national data provide only limited adolescent-specific transmission information, we do know that transmission among adult populations varies significantly on the basis of race and ethnicity. It is therefore critically important for providers to learn about the HIV epidemic in their local geographic area, and to understand the epidemic in light of variations in age, race/ethnicity, and gender within transmission categories; substance abuse trends; and other locally available information.

References

1. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. HIV/AIDS among Youth. CDC HIV/AIDS Fact Sheet. Atlanta: US Department of Health and Human Services; June 2006.
2. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. HIV/AIDS Surveillance in Adolescents and Young Adults (through 2005). Atlanta: US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC. Revised June 28, 2007.
3. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. HIV incidence among young men who have sex with men--seven U.S. cities, 1994-2000. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2001 Jun 1;50(21):440-4.
4. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Cases of HIV infection and AIDS in the United States and Dependent Areas, 2005. HIV/AIDS Surveillance Report; Vol. 17, Table 9. Atlanta: US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; 2005.