HIV/AIDS and
Substance Use
Substance
users are at high risk for HIV due to the potential for spreading the infection
through needles used to take drugs and because of high-risk behaviors that substance use increases, such as unprotected sex.
- As of December 2007, 31 percent of
the 1,051,875 cumulative
AIDS cases in the
- Among cumulative AIDS cases, IDU was
responsible for infecting 175,704 males and 80,155 females
- IDU is the second most common
exposure category for men with AIDS, accounting for 20 percent of total
AIDS cases among men.
- In women, 35 percent of AIDS cases
have been caused by injection drug use.
- IDU is responsible for 30 percent of
AIDS cases among African-Americans and 31 percent among Hispanics, in
comparison to 12 percent of cases among whites.
- Highest AIDS incidence related to
substance use is found among white women (40 percent), African-American
women (33 percent),
- People use condoms less frequently
when using drugs or alcohol.
-
In a study of 4,159 students only 47 percent reported using condoms when using
drugs or alcohol, compared to 60 percent among students who did not use drugs
or alcohol.
The spread of drug
use over particular populations can help raise HIV risk levels across all
populations
- Prisoners are especially at risk as
an estimated 25 percent of these people have used needles to inject drugs
and engage in unsafe behaviors.
o
Native
Americans and African-Americans reported the highest prevalence of substance
use, 10 percent and 7.7 percent, respectively. Whites and Latinos reported
substance use around 6.7 percent, compared to Asian/Pacific Islanders at 3.2
percent.
Sources:
Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Surveillance
Report, Vol. 19