Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 May 12;10(5):e0126180.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0126180. eCollection 2015.

Will "Combined Prevention" Eliminate Racial/Ethnic Disparities in HIV Infection among Persons Who Inject Drugs in New York City?

Don Des Jarlais  1 , Kamyar Arasteh  1 , Courtney McKnight  1 , Jonathan Feelemyer  1 , Holly Hagan  2 , Hannah Cooper  3 , Aimee Campbell  4 , Susan Tross  4 , David Perlman  1
Affiliations

Will "Combined Prevention" Eliminate Racial/Ethnic Disparities in HIV Infection among Persons Who Inject Drugs in New York City?

Don Des Jarlais et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

It has not been determined whether implementation of combined prevention programming for persons who inject drugs reduce racial/ethnic disparities in HIV infection. We examine racial/ethnic disparities in New York City among persons who inject drugs after implementation of the New York City Condom Social Marketing Program in 2007. Quantitative interviews and HIV testing were conducted among persons who inject drugs entering Mount Sinai Beth Israel drug treatment (2007-2014). 703 persons who inject drugs who began injecting after implementation of large-scale syringe exchange were included in the analyses. Factors independently associated with being HIV seropositive were identified and a published model was used to estimate HIV infections due to sexual transmission. Overall HIV prevalence was 4%; Whites 1%, African-Americans 17%, and Hispanics 4%. Adjusted odds ratios were 21.0 (95% CI 5.7, 77.5) for African-Americans to Whites and 4.5 (95% CI 1.3, 16.3) for Hispanics to Whites. There was an overall significant trend towards reduced HIV prevalence over time (adjusted odd ratio = 0.7 per year, 95% confidence interval (0.6-0.8). An estimated 75% or more of the HIV infections were due to sexual transmission. Racial/ethnic disparities among persons who inject drugs were not significantly different from previous disparities. Reducing these persistent disparities may require new interventions (treatment as prevention, pre-exposure prophylaxis) for all racial/ethnic groups.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. HIV prevalence and years of injection.
Fig 2
Fig 2. HIV Transmission and Transitions to Injecting Drug Use.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Des Jarlais DC, Bramson HA, Wong C, Gostnell K, Cepeda J, Arasteh K, et al. (2012) Racial/Ethnic Disparities in HIV infection among people who inject drugs: An international systematic review and meta-analysis. Addiction.2012. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Des Jarlais DC, Feelemyer JP, Modi SN, Arasteh A, Hagan H (2012) Are females who inject drugs at higher risk for HIV infection than males who inject drugs: An international systematic review of high seroprevalence areas. Drug Alcohol Depend 124: 95–107. 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2011.12.020 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Des Jarlais DC, Arasteh K, McKnight C, Feelemyer J, Hagan H, Cooper HLF, et al. (2014) Combined HIV prevention, the New York City condom distribution program, and the evolution of safer sex behavior among persons who inject drugs in New York City. AIDS Behav 18: 443–451. 10.1007/s10461-013-0664-0 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Friedman SR, Chapman TF, Perlis TE, Rockwell R, Paone D, Southeran JL, et al. (1999) Similarities and differences by race/ethnicity in changes of HIV seroprevalence and related behaviors among drug injectors in New York City, 1991–1996. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr 22: 83–91. - PubMed
    1. Des Jarlais D, Arasteh A, Hagan H, McKnight C, Perlman D, Friedman SR (2009) Persistence and change in disparities in HIV infection among injecting drug users in New York City after large-scale syringe exchange. Am J Public Health 99: S445–S451. 10.2105/AJPH.2008.159327 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms