Differential survival in blacks and Hispanics with AIDS

Objective. The object of this study was to investigate whether there are differences in survival by ethnicity in people with AIDS.

Design. The CDC Public Access Dataset was analysed. To estimate survival more accurately, a cohort of individuals diagnosed in 1987 was chosen from the dataset. Using this analysis, probabilities of survival were estimated.

Results. There were significant differences in survival in blacks and Hispanics as compared to whites diagnosed in 1987. Although there are differences in survival by transmission category, survival differences by ethnicity persisted when analysed within specific transmission categories. A model where the frequency distributions of survival were log‐transformed suggests that disease progression per se may not be the most important factor, but time of diagnosis may be. In addition, in looking at median survival by year of diagnosis, it is clear that blacks and Hispanics have not shown the same magnitude of improvement in survival time, and lag behind whites.

Conclusions. This study clearly shows differences in survival with AIDS by ethnicity. Differential access to health care may underlie such ethnic differences in survival.