Age Shift in Patterns of Injection Drug Use Among the HIV_AIDS Population in Miami-Dade County, Florida

Abstract

Analysis of HIV exposure category for 20,034 persons in three age groups (13–29, 30–49, 50 and over) who were alive through 2003 and had been reported to the Florida Department of Health with HIV or AIDS in Miami-Dade County, Florida, found that having a history of injection drug use increases with increasing age (p <. 001). Consideration of age-specific HIV risk profiles has implications for primary and secondary HIV prevention interventions, planning, and policy.

Keywords:

• AIDS
• epidemiology
• HIV
• injection drug use
• STD
• transmission

Notes

Note: In the 14 months since we ran our data, from August 16, 2004 through October 24, 2005, 394 deaths (2.0%) were reported among the cohort of 20,034 Miami-Dade County PLWHAs who were alive through 2003. Thus, the vast majority of the examined cohort of PLWHAs survived through the time of this writing.