STUDY: Young Black Gay Men Have A 1 in 4 Chance Of Contracting HIV

A new study of men who have sex with men puts a startling statistic on the face of the HIV/AIDS epidemic: black men who sleep with men have a 1 in 4 chance of contracting HIV, even though they represent only 1 in 500 Americans.

More distressingly, HIV rates among African-American MSM are actually on the rise, bucking the general trend in lower infection rates:

HIV represents a lifelong threat for Black gay men. A young Black gay man has a roughly 1-in-4 chance of being infected by age 25. By the time he is 40 years old, the odds a Black gay men will be living with HIV is roughly 60%. One can scour the entire world and struggle to find a population more heavily affected by HIV/AIDS than Black gay in the U.S.

Black gay men’s higher risk of HIV does not stem from higher levels of risk behavior. Rather, their disproportionate risk of HIV can be traced to their poor access to health services, a high prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases, and early patterns of sexual behavior among young gay men.

In addition to citing infection rates, the Institute’s study ranked 25 major cities to see which addressed the needs of HIV-positive black MSM most effectively. Washington, DC; Los Angeles; and New York hit the top of the list, while Gary, IN; Memphis; and Richmond, VA, were the three worst.  Read More