Although
African-Americans account for just 13% of the
nation's population, they represent nearly half
of all new U.S. HIV diagnoses, and now researchers at
the University of California, Berkeley, say they may
know why, The Washington Post reports. The
scientists said that the high rate of HIV among blacks may
be closely linked to the fact that African-American
men are incarcerated at significantly higher rates
than other racial groups. Because HIV prevalence
levels are significantly higher among prisoners than the
general population, African-American men may be getting
infected at high rates while in prison and then
transmitting the virus to their female sex partners
once they're released, theorized the researchers.
Using census
information on prison rates and federal data on about
850,000 U.S. HIV patients collected between 1982 and 1996,
researchers Rucker Johnson and Steven Raphael of the
University of California, Berkeley's Goldman School of
Public Policy determined that as the number of
African-American prisoners increased, so did the HIV rate in
black communities. The data showed that about 40% of
U.S. prisoners in 1982 were black, but that percentage
climbed to well above 50% by 1996. That, coupled with
the fact that the overall number of prisoners in the country
doubled in the 1980s and 1990s due to tougher sentencing
laws, resulted in a more than doubling of the number
of blacks in U.S. prisons over a 14-year span.
HIV transmissions
in U.S. jails frequently occur because very few
detention facilities provide condoms to prisoners, despite
studies that show about half of all male
prisoners will engage in sex with another male
prisoner while incarcerated. Illicit tattooing and
injection-drug use behind bars also spreads HIV and other
blood-borne diseases, say health officials.
Since virtually
all prisoners are released at some point, those who are
infected with HIV while in prison end up passing the virus
along to their wives, girlfriends, and other sex
partners once released, according to the study.
Johnson and
Raphael said their study data linking race, prison, and HIV
is so strong that they believe it almost completely explains
HIV's disproportionate impact on
African-Americans. (Advocate.com)
