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HIV among injection drug users in large US metropolitan areas, 1998

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Abstract

This article estimates HIV prevalence rates among injection drug users (IDUs) in 95 large US metropolitan areas to facilitate social and policy analyses of HIV epidemics. HIV prevalence rates among IDUs in these metropolitan areas were calculated by taking the mean of two estimates: (1) estimates based on regression adjustments to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Voluntary HIV Counseling and Testing data and (2) estimates based on the ratio of the number of injectors living with HIV to the number of injectors living in the metropolitan area. The validity of the resulting estimates was assessed. HIV prevalence rates varied from 2 to 28% (median 5.9%; interquartile range 4.0–10.2%). These HIV prevalence rates correlated with similar estimates calculated for 1992 and with two theoretically related phenomena: laws against over-the-counter purchase of syringes and income inequality. Despite limitations in the accuracy of these estimates, they can be used for structural analyses of the correlates, predictors and consequences of HIV prevalence rates among drug injectors in metropolitan areas and for assessing and targeting the service needs for drug injectors.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for AIDS Research, National Development and Research Institutes, 1 West 23rd Street, 8th Floor, 10010, New York, NY

    Samuel R. Friedman PhD

  2. Department of Epidemiology, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland

    Samuel R. Friedman PhD

  3. Bureau of HIV/AIDS, Florida Department of Health, Tallahassee, Florida

    Spencer Lieb

  4. National Development and Research Institutes, Inc., New York, New York

    Barbara Tempalski,  Marie Keem &  Risa Friedman

  5. Medical and Health Research Association of New York/National Development and Research Institutes, Inc., New York, New York

    Hannah Cooper

  6. Columbia Mailman School of Public Health, New York

    Hannah Cooper

  7. Statistics and Data Analysis Core, National Development and Research Institutes, Inc., New York, New York

    Peter L. Flom

Authors
  1. Samuel R. Friedman PhD
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  2. Spencer Lieb
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  3. Barbara Tempalski
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  4. Hannah Cooper
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  5. Marie Keem
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  6. Risa Friedman
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  7. Peter L. Flom
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Correspondence to Samuel R. Friedman PhD.

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Friedman, S.R., Lieb, S., Tempalski, B. et al. HIV among injection drug users in large US metropolitan areas, 1998. J Urban Health 82, 434–445 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1093/jurban/jti088

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