Trends in the First Ten Years of AIDS in New York City

Abstract

With over 37,000 cases of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) reported by the end of 1991, New York City had reported nearly 20% of all US cases in the first decade of the AIDS epidemic. This report examines cases diagnosed through 1990 and reported through 1991 to describe rates and trends in the affected subpopulations. Case data were collected by the New York City Department of Health AIDS Surveillance Team, using a format standardized by the federal Centers for Disease Control. Deaths attributable to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection were examined using data provided by the New York City Department of Health Bureau of Vital Statistics. From 1981 through 1990, 37,436 cases of AIDS were diagnosed: 83% in men over the age of 19 years, 15% in women over 19, 2% in children under 13, and less than 1% in teenagers aged 13-19. Cumulative rates in New York City adults were as high as 100 per 10,000 in nine neighborhoods. Predominant trends included a sustained plateau in reported incidence in men who reported having sex with men and a continuing rise in cases in injection drug users and women infected through heterosexual intercourse. HIV-related deaths in men, women, and children were continuing to rise at the end of the decade. During the first decade of the AIDS/HIV epidemic, case surveillance in New York City measured the visible portion of the epidemic and provided important data on subepidemics.

Survival of Elderly Patients with Transfusion‐Related Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

“…Data on transfusion and IVDU related AIDS cases reported to the New York City Department of Health from 1981 to May 1992 were supplied by the office of AIDS Surveillance. The data collecting methods are published elsewhere 14, 15 . Data supplied included month and year of diagnosis of AIDS, date of death (where applicable), age at time of diagnosis, risk factor, and AIDS‐defining diagnosis.…”

Analyzing the Role of Social Workers in Supporting People Living With HIV in New York City During the 1990s

“…All two participants invited the first author to meet at their Manhattan, New York offices. New York City was selected because it was one of the earliest cities in the world where HIV was first detected, and it was reported that during the 1990s, 20% of all HIV cases in the United States were from New York City (Thomas et al, 1993). Second, this city experienced rapid development in terms of medical research and psychosocial interventions to support and assist PLHIV (Rowan & Honeycutt, 2010).…”

“…This, in turn, led to a delay in recognizing the existence of HIV and associated treatments and a high level of stigma and discrimination among PLHIV-including women and children (Greene, 2007). During the early discovery of HIV in the late 1980s, New York City had the largest concentration of cases of HIV and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in the country (Thomas et al, 1993). The community at the time grappled with the fear of this virtually unknown virus, and PLHIV experienced pervasive and other coexisting conditions of poverty, isolation, mental illness, and addictions (Linsk, 2011).…”

“…By the 1990s, it was estimated that about 200,000 cases of HIV had been detected among New York City residents (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2021). Thomas et al (1993) added that ten years after the first HIV case, New York City had reported nearly 20% of all U.S. cases. In 2020, it was estimated that 37.6 million people were living with HIV across the world, of whom 35.9 million were adults and 1.7 million were children 15 years of age and below (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2023).…”

25 Years of HIV in New York City: Lessons from Surveillance

“…11 Methods for AIDS surveillance data collection and management are detailed elsewhere. 12,13 New York City has a greater number of AIDS cases than any other city in the United States, with a cumulative total of 122,758 cases reported through 2000. This represents 17% of AIDS in the US, reported from a city with 3% of the nation's population.…”