Hiv Among Transgender People In The Us
There are nearly 1 million transgender adults in the United States, though that number continues to grow as more people come to understand transgender identity.
Here are several key statistics regarding HIV among transgender people in the U.S.:
- Approximately 2,351 transgender people were diagnosed with HIV in the United States between 2009 and 2014.
- Of those, 84% were transgender women, and 15% were transgender men. One percent had a nonbinary identity.
- About half of transgender people43% of transgender women and 54% of transgender menwho received an HIV diagnosis during that period lived in the U.S. South.
Discrimination And Homophobia Fuel The Hiv Epidemic In Gay And Bisexual Men
Psychology and AIDS Exchange Newsletter
Perry N. Halkitis, PhD, MSSteinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development, New York University Over the last 30 years, efforts to prevent new infections among have been guided by paradigms that hold individuals responsible for their health behaviors. These approaches, rooted primarily in social-cognitive frameworks , have resulted in maintaining new infections in the United States at a steady state for the last decade . In addition, the population of men who have sex with men has continued to be the only risk category for which new infections are rising . In fact, gay, bisexual, and other MSM acquire HIV at rates 44 times greater than other men and 40 times greater than women .More recently, with the game-changing breakthroughs in the biomedical arena, attention has shifted to these biomedical prevention strategies, which include preexposure prophylaxis for gay, bisexual, and other MSM and vaginal microbicides for women . In this biomedical approach, the early detection and treatment of HIV have been recommended policy for the last several years as a way to decrease community viral load. Yet even these medical advances are fraught with their own complications, not least of which are matters of uptake and adherence.
Hiv Among Bisexual People In The Us
Despite making up the largest part of the LGBTQ community, bisexual people continue to be erased in many ways. And, as weve discussed above, invisibility and erasure often lead to worse health outcomes.
The CDC does not include data specific to bisexuals in its HIV data. Although men, women, and people of all genders can identify as bisexual, data about sexual HIV transmission is often recorded as either heterosexual or male to male, even if one or both people involved in the transmission are bisexual. Because data is aggregated by mode of transmission and not a persons identity, bisexual people are often unseen within HIV data.
Along with creating barriers to health care, biphobia among the general population can often lead to compromised sexual health for bisexual people, as well.
- Biphobia has led to bisexual men being less likely to come out and get tested for HIV.
- Bisexual women combine substance and alcohol abuse with sexual activity more frequently than gay or straight women.
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Why Is Hiv More Common In Men Who Have Sex With Men
Around the world, MSM are 25 times more likely than average to contract HIV, reports UNAIDS.
In the United States, gay men, bisexual men, and other MSM account for the majority of new HIV diagnoses.
Because HIV is more common among MSM, these men are more likely to have sex with someone who has the virus.
Several other factors also raise the chances of transmission across MSM.
HIV can be transmitted through contact with virus-containing:
- vaginal fluids
- breast milk
Some people contract the virus when they have sex without a condom or other barrier method. Still, this isnt the only way to contract HIV.
The virus can be transmitted when someone with HIV shares needles, syringes, or other drug equipment with another person.
HIV can also be passed from a mother to child during pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding.
Some people have contracted HIV after a blood transfusion or organ transplant that contained the virus. But because donor blood and organs have been routinely tested for HIV since 1985, the chance of this happening today is very low.
Hiv And All Gay And Bisexual Men
Data for 2020 should be interpreted with caution due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on access to HIV testing, care-related services, and case surveillance activities in state and local jurisdictions. While 2020 data on HIV diagnoses and prevention and care outcomes are available, we are not updating this web content with data from these reports.
Gay, bisexual, and other men who reported male-to-male sexual contacta,b are disproportionately affected by HIV. Social and structural issuessuch as HIV stigma, homophobia, discrimination, poverty, and limited access to high-quality health careinfluence health outcomes and continue to drive inequities. Get the latest data on HIV among gay and bisexual men and find out how CDC is making a difference.
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Discrimination And Homophobia As Causes Of Hiv
These structural conditions, which take the form of discrimination and homophobia , are further compounded by racism and economic disparities for gay and bisexual men of color. Exposure to and experiences of homophobia have been implicated in substance abuse, risky sexual behaviors, negative body image, suicide attempts, increased stress and limited social support among gay and bisexual men . Moreover, experiences with homophobia have been shown to interfere with the ability of gay and bisexual men to establish and maintain longterm same-sex relationships, which protect against HIV acquisition . The experiences of homophobia may exert their effects on sexual risk taking indirectly by exacerbating mental health burden .
Recently our research team at the Center for Health Identity, Behavior and Prevention Studies at New York University documented the risks and resiliencies of young gay and bisexual men ages 1329 in a study named Project Desire. Using Gilligans Listening Guide for Psychological Inquiry , we recorded these young mens fears, hopes, and dreams in relation to emerging adulthood, dating, sex and HIV. Some spoke very clearly about experiences of homophobia in their lives . An 18-year-old Latino who was HIV-negative expressed how he experienced homophobia from his own sister:
Similarly, a 25-year-old Black, HIV-positive man described his familys reaction to his coming out as follows:
List Of Estimated Hiv Infection Rates By Country
Disclaimer: estimated HIV rates can be inaccurate. For example, UNAIDS reported that the HIV rate among MSM in Australia was 18.1%, but the actual rate reported by The Australian Federation of AIDS was 7.3%. This is due to the fact UNAIDS relied on a convenience sample of men who were more at risk to HIV, and thus did not capture an accurate representation of the MSM population.
| Country |
|---|
| 0.1 |
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Massive Misconceptions About Hiv Almost Stopped Sue Hunter From Getting Tested
Sue Hunter is one of the many straight women who are living with HIV in the UK today. She was diagnosed 15 years ago after she entered into a new relationship following a divorce. Looking back, she says she almost didnt get tested because she had massive misconceptions about HIV.
Id come out of a marriage, I started again, I was only 45 and I met a new partner. We had a lovely relationship for about a year but I decided I wanted to go my own way after the divorce and all that, so we separated but we stayed friends, Sue tells PinkNews.
Shortly after they separated, Sues former partner started developing persistent chest infections. He eventually ended up being hospitalised for pneumonia, which led to him testing positive for HIV.
Once he mentioned those three letters, I was like: Why is he talking to me about something like that? Sue says. She had always thought that, as a straight woman, she wasnt at risk of contracting HIV.
He walked out the door and one of the last things he said to me was: Please go for a HIV test. Obviously I did and I got my result, and it was positive.
The first thing I thought was: HIV doesnt happen to women for a start, and certainly not to heterosexual women. I contacted the Terrence Higgins Trust and started to inform myself, and I learned that it does happen to women and it does happen to heterosexuals.
Hiv Infection Rates In The Us
The HIV virus affects the human immune system and, if left untreated can eventually lead to Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome .
The CDC reported that in 2009 that male-to-male sex accounted for 61% of all new HIV infections in the U.S. and that those who had a history of recreational drug injection accounted for an additional 3% of new infections. Among the approximately 784,701 people living with an HIV diagnosis, 396,810 were MSM. About 48% of MSM living with an HIV diagnosis were white, 30% were black, and 19% were Hispanic or Latino. Although the majority of MSM are white, non-whites accounted for 54% of new infections HIV related MSM infections in 2008.
In 2010 the CDC reported that MSM represented approximately 4 percent of the male population in the United States but male-to-male sex accounted for 78 percent of new HIV infections among men and 63 percent of all new infections. Men overall accounted for 76% of all adults and adolescents living with HIV infection at the end of 2010 in the United States, and 80% of the estimated 47,500 new HIV infections. 69% of men living with HIV were gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men. 39% of new HIV infections in US men were in blacks, 35% were in whites, and 22% were in Hispanics/Latinos. The rate of estimated new HIV infections among black men was 103.6âsix and a half times that of white men and more than twice the rate among Hispanic/Latino men as of 2010.
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Key Points: Hiv Incidence
- HIV incidence declined 8% from 2015 to 2019. In 2019, the estimated number of HIV infections in the U.S. was 34,800 and the rate was 12.6 .
- , the annual number of HIV infections in 2019, compared with 2015, decreased among persons aged 1324 and persons aged 45-54, but remained stable among all other age groups. In 2019, the rate was highest for persons aged 25-34 , followed by the rate for persons aged 35-44 .
- , the annual number of HIV infections in 2019, compared with 2015, decreased among persons of multiple races, but remained stable for persons of all other races/ethnicities. In 2019, the highest rate was for Blacks/African American persons , followed by Hispanic/Latino persons and persons of multiple races .
- , the annual number of new HIV infections in 2019, as compared to 2015, decreased among males, but remained stable among females. In 2019, the rate for males was 5 times the rate for females .
- , the annual number of HIV infections in 2019, compared with 2015, decreased among males with transmission attributed to male-to-male sexual contact, but remained stable among all other transmission categories. In 2019, the largest percentages of HIV infections were attributed to male-to-male sexual contact
For more details on recent HIV incidence statistics, see Estimated HIV Incidence and Prevalence in the United States, 2015-2019.
National Gay Mens Hiv/aids Awareness Day 2021
In 2019, there were 587,355 Gay and Bisexual Men living with HIV, representing over half of all people living with HIV in the U.S.
Gay and Bisexual Men face multiple HIV prevention challenges, such as racism, discrimination, homophobia, and stigma, that put them at higher risk for HIV and prevent them from accessing quality health care that allows them to be aware of their status and take steps to improve their health. These factors are even more prominent for Gay and Bisexual Men of color. From 2008 to 2019, Black Gay and Bisexual Men and Hispanic/Latino Gay and Bisexual Men experienced a 2% decrease and 18% increase respectively in new HIV diagnoses, compared to a 34% decrease among white Gay and Bisexual Men.
Racial disparities are also visible along the HIV care continuum, a public health model that outlines the stages of care people living with HIV go through from diagnosis to achieving and maintaining viral suppression. In 2019, Black Gay and Bisexual Men and Hispanic Gay and Bisexual Men living with HIV had lower rates of viral suppression, 62% and 67% respectively, compared to white Gay and Bisexual Men living with HIV .
In addition to racial disparities, many Gay and Bisexual Men experience challenges in achieving and maintaining viral suppression due to disproportionate levels of homelessness, stigma, and a lack of mental health and culturally competent care that may prevent them from accessing treatment and necessary medications.
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Estimated Number Of People Living With Hiv
The Agency estimates that approximately 62,050 people were living with HIV at the end of 2018 . This estimate represents a 3% increase from the estimated 58,291 at the end of 2016 .
The estimated prevalence rate in Canada at the end of 2018 was 167 per 100,000 population .
Figure 10. HIV Prevalence: Estimated number of people living with HIV in Canada
This graph shows estimated number of people living with HIV by year. The vertical axis shows point estimates for number of people living with HIV, along with the associated low estimate and high estimate. The horizontal axis shows the calendar years.
| Year | |
|---|---|
| 62,050 | 70,500 |
Of the estimated 62,050 people living with HIV in Canada at the end of 2018:
- Nearly half were among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men. .
- 14.0% were people who inject drugs, and 33.4% were heterosexuals.
- About one in four PLHIV was female and this proportion has been consistent over the past 6 years.
- One in ten was Indigenous. This proportion remained stable compared to the 2016 estimates.
Figure 11. Proportion of people living with HIV, by key population, Canada, 2018
This pie chart shows the estimated percentage of people living with HIV by key population in 2018.
| Key population |
|---|
|
|
The Confluence Of Homophobia Racism And Economic Inequalities
For gay and bisexual men of color, the effects of sexual orientation discrimination on HIV risk may be confounded and exacerbated by other powerful structural factors, including racism, lack of access to economic means, and poverty . HIV in the United States has disproportionately affected racial/ethnic minorities and the poor for decades . Thus, the synergistic social conditions of homophobia, racism, and poverty likely explain the even higher incidence of new HIV infections among racial ethnic minorities, particularly Black and Latino gay and bisexual men . In a study of Latino men, Diaz et al. identified positive relations between risky sexual behaviors and the participants experiences of homophobia, racism, and financial instability. Mays, Cochran, and Zamudio revealed similar findings in a study of gay, bisexual and other MSM.
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Hiv/aids In The Lives Of Gay And Bisexual Men In The United States
From the earliest days of the HIV epidemic, gay and bisexual men have been among the hardest-hit groups in the United States. While gay men make up just 2 percent of the U.S. population, they account for two thirds of new HIV infections, a majority of people living with HIV, and more than half of all AIDS deaths since the epidemics beginning.1 It is estimated that 12-13 percent of gay and bisexual men in the U.S. are HIV-positive2, including one in five in many major U.S. cities3. Gay men are the only group in the country among whom new infections are on the rise between 2008-2010, new infections rose 12 percent overall among gay men, and 22 percent among younger gay men ages 13-24.4 Recent research shows that antiretroviral therapy, which already has helped to dramatically increase the quality and length of life for people with HIV, has the potential to play a powerful role in the prevention of HIV. People living with HIV can reduce the risk of transmitting the infection to others by up to 96 percent if they are taking consistent ARV treatment5, and for those who are HIV negative, new pre-exposure prophylaxis offers a daily pill that can help them to stay negative.6
Highlights Of Survey Findings
Highlights Of Differences Between Groups
Differences by race/ethnicity
Differences by age
Appendix 1 Additional Detail Related To Canada’s Modelling Method
Reference: Yan, Ping Zhang, Fan and Wand, Handan . Using HIV Diagnostic Data to Estimate HIV Incidence: Method and Simulation. Statistical Communications in Infectious Diseases: Vol. 3: Iss. 1, Article 6.
The statistical modelling method that was used to estimate the number of new HIV infections in Canada is based on a back-calculation method that combines HIV and AIDS diagnostic data with data on the proportions of recent infections among newly diagnosed individuals . The model estimates the time trend in the number of past HIV infections, up until the present time since surveillance data can only record the date of diagnosis and not the date of infection . From this trend in past HIV infections, the model then projects forward to calculate the expected number of HIV diagnoses . The back-calculation method used for incidence estimation in Canada is similar to methods used in the European Union, the USA, and Australia.
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