One in 22 Blacks Will Get HIV, CDC Report Says

A new CDC report estimating the lifetime risk of HIV diagnosis for several populations found great disparities by racial/ethnic groups. Based on HIV surveillance, vital statistics, and census data from 37 states and Puerto Rico for 2007, an estimated 4.65 percent of blacks/African Americans would receive an HIV diagnosis during their lifetime, or 1 in 22, according to the new report.

The 1 in 22 risk was more than twice the estimated lifetime risk of HIV diagnosis for Hispanics/Latinos (1.92 percent, or 1 in 52) and eight times that of whites (0.59 percent, or 1 in 170), the report found.

The estimates of lifetime risk of HIV diagnosis are not representative of all HIV diagnoses in the United States. However, the data also were not considered unusual. A report published in 2008 found a similar high estimated lifetime risk of HIV diagnosis for blacks.

The new report, "Estimated Lifetime Risk for Diagnosis of HIV Infection Among Hispanics/Latinos -- 37 States and Puerto Rico, 2007," was published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (2010;59(40):1297-1301).

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