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ImportanceStructural racism in the US is evidenced in the discriminatory practice of historical racial redlining when neighborhoods were valued, in part, based on the community’s racial and ethnic compositions. However, the influence of these systemic practices in the context of the HIV epidemic is not well understood.ObjectiveTo assess the effect of redlining on time to viral suppression among people newly diagnosed with HIV.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsObservational study that included individuals diagnosed with HIV from January 1, 2011, to December 31, 2019, in New Orleans, Louisiana. At the time of their HIV diagnosis, these individuals lived in neighborhoods historically mapped by the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC). The HOLC lending risk maps classified neighborhoods into 1 of 4 color-coded grades: A (best), B (still desirable), C (definitely declining), and D (hazardous).Main Outcome and MeasuresThe primary outcome of interest was time to viral suppression (estimated as the time from the diagnosis date to the date of the first recorded viral load that was <200 copies/mL). Individual-level demographic factors were used to evaluate time to viral suppression along with a neighborhood measure of gentrification (based on US census tract–level characteristics for educational attainment, housing development and value, and household income) and a Cox gamma frailty model with census tract used as the frailty term.ResultsOf 1132 individuals newly diagnosed with HIV, 871 (76.9%) were men and 620 (54.8%) were 25 to 44 years of age. Of the 697 individuals living in historically redlined neighborhoods (HOLC grade D), 100 (14.6%) were living in neighborhoods that were gentrifying. The median time to viral suppression was 193 days (95% CI, 167-223 days) for persons with HIV living in redlined neighborhoods compared with 164 days (95% CI, 143-185 days) for the 435 persons with HIV living in HOLC grade A, B, or C (nonredlined) neighborhoods. Among persons with HIV living in gentrifying neighborhoods, those living in redlined neighborhoods had a longer time to viral suppression compared with persons living in nonredlined neighborhoods (hazard ratio, 0.54 [95% CI, 0.36-0.82]).Conclusions and RelevanceThese findings suggest the enduring effects of systemic racism on present-day health outcomes among persons with HIV. Regardless of their neighborhood’s contemporary level of gentrification, individuals diagnosed with HIV while living in historically redlined neighborhoods may experience a significantly longer time to viral suppression.
ImportanceStructural racism in the US is evidenced in the discriminatory practice of historical racial redlining when neighborhoods were valued, in part, based on the community’s racial and ethnic compositions. However, the influence of these systemic practices in the context of the HIV epidemic is not well understood.ObjectiveTo assess the effect of redlining on time to viral suppression among people newly diagnosed with HIV.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsObservational study that included individuals diagnosed with HIV from January 1, 2011, to December 31, 2019, in New Orleans, Louisiana. At the time of their HIV diagnosis, these individuals lived in neighborhoods historically mapped by the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC). The HOLC lending risk maps classified neighborhoods into 1 of 4 color-coded grades: A (best), B (still desirable), C (definitely declining), and D (hazardous).Main Outcome and MeasuresThe primary outcome of interest was time to viral suppression (estimated as the time from the diagnosis date to the date of the first recorded viral load that was <200 copies/mL). Individual-level demographic factors were used to evaluate time to viral suppression along with a neighborhood measure of gentrification (based on US census tract–level characteristics for educational attainment, housing development and value, and household income) and a Cox gamma frailty model with census tract used as the frailty term.ResultsOf 1132 individuals newly diagnosed with HIV, 871 (76.9%) were men and 620 (54.8%) were 25 to 44 years of age. Of the 697 individuals living in historically redlined neighborhoods (HOLC grade D), 100 (14.6%) were living in neighborhoods that were gentrifying. The median time to viral suppression was 193 days (95% CI, 167-223 days) for persons with HIV living in redlined neighborhoods compared with 164 days (95% CI, 143-185 days) for the 435 persons with HIV living in HOLC grade A, B, or C (nonredlined) neighborhoods. Among persons with HIV living in gentrifying neighborhoods, those living in redlined neighborhoods had a longer time to viral suppression compared with persons living in nonredlined neighborhoods (hazard ratio, 0.54 [95% CI, 0.36-0.82]).Conclusions and RelevanceThese findings suggest the enduring effects of systemic racism on present-day health outcomes among persons with HIV. Regardless of their neighborhood’s contemporary level of gentrification, individuals diagnosed with HIV while living in historically redlined neighborhoods may experience a significantly longer time to viral suppression.
As the US emerged from the Great Depression in the 1930s, the federal government took a leading role in entrenching the racially segregated geography of our cities. 1 To shore up the housing market, threatened by foreclosures, the government offered to refinance at lower rates and guarantee mortgages. The Home Owners' Loan Corporation (HOLC) was tasked with providing guidance for this effort. Between 1935 and 1940, it mapped over 200 US cities and assigned grades of credit worthiness. Neighborhoods were graded and color coded: A was green for best, B was blue for still desirable, C was yellow for definitely declining, and D was red for hazardous. The term redlining referenced group D, the red areas, where insuring mortgages would be too risky. Notes from evaluators who assigned group D designations referred to "detrimental influences," including "Negro infiltration," 1,2 immigrant individuals, and Jewish individuals. The residents of redlined areas were disproportionately African American individuals.The 1968 Fair Housing Act made redlining illegal, but its impacts have lingered for 3 generations. Redlining deprived Black individuals in the US of a key source of intergenerational wealth transfer: home ownership. The Mapping Inequality Project 2 digitized the HOLC maps for some 200 cities, greatly facilitating exploration of historical redlining and its relationship to a variety of contemporary outcomes. Although redlining was not the only driver of residential segregation, it created a platform for disinvestment and deprivation for neighborhoods and their residents. Studies show that historically redlined areas have less public transportation, less broadband access, fewer supermarkets, pharmacies, and medical specialists, fewer trees and greenspace, poorer air and water quality, and more noise. There is even less diverse birdlife. 3 Further, these neighborhoods are more likely to have nearby hazardous industrial sites and higher density of alcohol and tobacco retail outlets. Residents have less access to credit and are at increased risk for a range of adverse health outcomes, including preterm birth, lead poisoning, asthma, cancer, and cardiovascular disease, among others. Together these studies suggest that there is an enduring impact of redlining that persists with statistical adjustment for rac, ethnicity, and poverty. Place itself matters. Now, owing to the work of Bassler and colleagues, 4 we can add worse HIV management to the list of impacts of harms due to redlining. The authors found that among people newly diagnosed with HIV, it took 30 days longer (193 vs 164 days) to achieve viral load suppression among those with a current residence in a historically redlined area in New Orleans compared to those who lived in other HOLC classified areas (A, B, Related articles
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