NCJ Number
189869
Journal
HRSA Care ACTION Dated: May 2001 Pages: 1-6
Date Published
May 2001
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This article provided updated information from the 1999 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA) on substance abuse in the United States to better understand its effects on the AIDS epidemic in the United States.
Abstract
A critical link identified between substance abuse and HIV infection is reflected in the AIDS epidemic. In the United States, a much higher proportion of AIDS cases are related to substance abuse. The understanding of substance abuse is important for those individuals involved in the treatment of HIV disease. This article summarized the recent data from the 1999 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA) on the use of alcohol and illicit drugs. Data was presented supporting this relationship through discussions on the number of illicit drug users in the United States, substance abuse in urban and rural areas, injection drug choice, and the drugs of choice. Evidence suggested there was no substantial decrease seen in the interplay between substance abuse and HIV infection for the future. The phenomenon of increased substance abuse among young people paralleled evidence of increased sexual activity at younger ages, particularly the unprotected sexual encounters among men with men. These warning signs could have an upward effect on HIV incidence. AIDS surveillance data did not indicate any increase in the proportion of new AIDS cases for which the HIV exposure category was injection drug use, heterosexual contact with an injection drug user, or men who have sex with men and inject drugs. However, it was certain that the proportion of new cases in which substance abuse was a factor remained substantial. The incidence of HIV remained steady at approximately 40,000 infections annually, and the decrease in AIDS incidence slowed considerably in recent years. These developments indicated a substantial level of need for services for HIV-positive patients who were current or former alcohol and other abusers. Graphs