[Incidence of new HIV diagnoses in Spain, 2004-2009]

Abstract

Objective: To describe the incidence of new HIV diagnoses and its trend in Spain.

Methods: All new HIV diagnoses notified to the case-registries of 15 autonomous regions (64% of the total Spanish population) in 2009 were analyzed. To evaluate trends from 2004 to 2009, data from only nine regions were available. Clinical-epidemiological data were obtained from the notification forms. Distributions of new HIV diagnoses and late diagnoses according to several variables were performed. The Poisson distribution was used to evaluate trends.

Results: In 2009, 2264 new HIV diagnoses were notified, mostly in men (80%). The median age at diagnosis was 36 years (interquartile range 29-43) and 37.6% of affected individuals were immigrants, mostly from Latin-America and sub-Saharan Africa. The most common transmission category (42.5%) was men who have sex with men (MSM) followed by the heterosexual and parenteral modes of transmission (34.5% and 8.1%, respectively). The median CD4 count at diagnosis was 347 (interquartile range: 152-555), and CD4 count was <350 in 50.2% of patients. From 2004 to 2009, the mean incidence rate of new HIV diagnoses was 91.14 per million inhabitants; an increasing trend for rates in MSM, as well as a decreasing trend for the parenteral mode of transmission, were observed.

Conclusions: In Spain, the epidemiology of HIV infection has changed since the mid-1990s. Currently, the most frequent transmission category is sexual transmission, particularly among MSM, and immigrants are an important part of the epidemic. Heterogeneous trends for the three main transmission categories were observed from 2004 to 2009.