Latinos Diagnosed With HIV More Often in the U.S.

Data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that there has been a rise in the number of new HIV infections among Latinos in the United States. Between 2012 and 2022, the prevalence has risen for people in this group from 13.7 per 100,000 population to 18.6. According to CDC data, this is largely a result of an increase in the number of cases among young gay men.

In terms of absolute numbers, there were 11,814 cases of new HIV infections among the Hispanic/Latino population in 2022, accounting for nearly a third of the total new infections that year. Census data shows that the Hispanic/Latino community makes up 19.1 percent of the U.S. total population, indicating how overrepresented the HIV-positive group has become.

Yet, the highest prevalence for new HIV infections in the United States is still among the Black/African American population. A total of 14,582 Black or African Americans were recorded as having new HIV infections in 2022. Making up nearly 40 percent of the total new cases that year, this is an even starker inequality, with the Black or African American population accounting for just 12.6 percent of the U.S. total. Progress is at least being made though with rates among the Black or African American population having started to fall over the past decade from a prevalence of 41.7 to 34.7 per 100,000.

According to AP, issues with understanding the health care system, as well as lack of transportation, and in some cases, fear of deportation on seeking treatment, are among some of the reasons for the higher levels of new cases. But stigma too remains a major challenge in all communities.

In a 2022 NIH paper looking specifically into cases of HIV in Latino communities, researchers found that HIV-related stigma, often tied to religious taboos on homosexuality or multiple sex partners, is proving to be a major barrier to HIV-education and accessing care, in turn exacerbating risk of HIV infection. At the same time, according to the study, Latinos were less likely to be aware of their HIV status, more likely to report never having been offered an HIV test and also more likely to turn to healthcare services later on and with more advanced disease than their non-Hispanic counterparts. For these reasons, the reduction of such stigma is a priority for reducing these disparities, according to the report.

This chart does not include data points on the groups of people who identify as Asian, as American Indians/Alaska Natives or as two or more races, whose groups had a rate of 9 new cases per 100,000 population, 13.3 per 100,000 population and 3.9 per 100,000 population in 2022, respectively. This is because these definitions were not used in the same way when collecting the 2012 data and so it is harder to compare the change in rates.