NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DRUG ABUSE EPIDEMIOLOGIC ...

esidents are living with advanced HIV disease. Los
Angeles County cumulative cases represent approximately
36 percent of the 135,982 cumulative cases in
California and approximately 6 percent of the
886,575 cumulative cases nationwide. Of the cumulative
cases reported in Los Angeles County, 47 percent
were White, 30 percent were Hispanic, 20 percent
were African-American, 44 percent were age
30–39, and 92 percent were male.
The proportion of newly diagnosed males solely exposed
through injection drug use has ranged between
5 and 7 percent from 1997 to 2003 (exhibit 15). The
proportions for other exposure categories, such as the
combination of male-to-male sexual contact and injection
drug use, heterosexual contact, blood transfusion,
and hemophilia/coagulation disorder, have remained
relatively stable since 1997. The proportion
of men exposed to AIDS through male-to-male sexual
contact has decreased steadily, from 66 percent in
1997 to 64 percent in 2003. The proportion of male
cases with an “other” or “undetermined” exposure
category continues to rise steadily, and in 2003, it
accounted for 21 percent of all male cases diagnosed
that year.
The modal exposure category for females diagnosed
with AIDS in 1997 was heterosexual contact (46 percent).
This exposure category has been associated
with a lower proportion of female AIDS cases since
then; in 2003, it was associated with 34 percent of all
newly diagnosed female AIDS cases. Female cases
attributable to injection drug use, which were stable at
16–17 percent of all female cases from 2000 to 2002,
decreased to 11 percent in 2003. The proportion of
female cases with an “other” or “undetermined” exposure
category continued to increase, accounting for 54
percent of all female cases diagnosed in 2003.
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EPIDEMIOLOGIC TRENDS IN DRUG ABUSE—Los Angeles County
In Los Angeles County, approximately 7 percent of
all AIDS cases have involved injection drug use
(alone) as the primary route of exposure. Among the
3,403 cumulative cases primarily attributable to injection
drug use, 73 percent occurred among males.
African-Americans are the modal group of male injection
drug users (IDUs) (accounting for 38 percent),
followed by equal percentages of Whites and
Hispanics (each accounting for 31 percent). A similar
pattern was seen with female IDU AIDS cases. African-Americans
continued to constitute the greatest
proportion (44 percent), followed by Whites (31 percent)
and Hispanics (22 percent).
An additional 7 percent of the total cumulative cases
were attributable to a combination of male-to-male
sexual contact and injection drug use. Fifty-two percent
of the male-to-male sexual contact and injection
drug use cases were White.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author wishes to thank those individuals and
agencies that provide the wide array of valuable alcohol-
and drug-related data, statistics, and information.
Los Angeles County’s participation in and contribution
to the Community Epidemiology Work Group would
be extremely difficult without the continuous cooperation
of several local, State, and national agencies. In
particular, the author wishes to thank Craig Chaffee
(California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs),
Rudy Lovio and Jeff Sharon (Los Angeles
Criminal Information Clearinghouse), the LAPD Staff
Services Unit staff (Narcotics Division), Valley Rachal
and Liqun Wong (NFLIS), Judy Ball and Erin Mallonee
(DAWN), Stu Heard and Terry Carlson (California
Poison Control System), Greg Austin and Kiku
Annon (WestEd), and Gordon Bunch and the
LACDHS HIV Epidemiology Program staff.
For inquiries concerning this report, please contact Beth Finnerty, M.P.H., University of California at Los Angeles, Integrated Substance Abuse
Programs, 1640 South Sepulveda Blvd., Suite 200, Los Angeles, CA 90025, Phone: 310-445-0874 ext. 376, Fax: 310-312-0538, E-mail: .
Proceedings of the Community Epidemiology Work Group, Vol. II, January 2005