ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTION
Estimation of HIV Incidence in the United States
H. Irene Hall, PhD
Ruiguang Song, PhD
Philip Rhodes, PhD
Joseph Prejean, PhD
Qian An, MS
Lisa M. Lee, PhD
John Karon, PhD
Ron Brookmeyer, PhD
Edward H. Kaplan, PhD
Matthew T. McKenna, MD
Robert S. Janssen, MD
for the HIV Incidence
Surveillance Group
K
NOWLEDGE ABOUT TRENDS AND
current patterns of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
infections is essential for planning and evaluating prevention efforts
and for resource allocation. In the past,
data on AIDS incidence and, more recently, data on HIV diagnoses and
prevalence have been used for planning and targeting HIV prevention programs. Timely information on national HIV incidence among key US
populations can provide a more accurate picture of the HIV epidemic and
likely lead to improved reach and impact of domestic programs. However,
the incidence of HIV infection in the
United States has never been directly
measured.1
In the early 1990s, back-calculation
models using AIDS incidence data and
the probability distribution of the incubation period from HIV infection to
AIDS diagnosis2-5 provided historical
trends of HIV incidence, but these models could not provide timely data on
520
Context Incidence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the United States has
not been directly measured. New assays that differentiate recent vs long-standing HIV
infections allow improved estimation of HIV incidence.
Objective To estimate HIV incidence in the United States.
Design, Setting, and Patients Remnant diagnostic serum specimens from patients 13 years or older and newly diagnosed with HIV during 2006 in 22 states were
tested with the BED HIV-1 capture enzyme immunoassay to classify infections as recent or long-standing. Information on HIV cases was reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention through June 2007. Incidence of HIV in the 22 states
during 2006 was estimated using a statistical approach with adjustment for testing
frequency and extrapolated to the United States. Results were corroborated with backcalculation of HIV incidence for 1977-2006 based on HIV diagnoses from 40 states
and AIDS incidence from 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Main Outcome Measure Estimated HIV incidence.
Results An estimated 39 400 persons were diagnosed with HIV in 2006 in the 22
states. Of 6864 diagnostic specimens tested using the BED assay, 2133 (31%) were
classified as recent infections. Based on extrapolations from these data, the estimated
number of new infections for the United States in 2006 was 56 300 (95% confidence
interval [CI], 48 200-64 500); the estimated incidence rate was 22.8 per 100 000 population (95% CI, 19.5-26.1). Forty-five percent of infections were among black individuals and 53% among men who have sex with men. The back-calculation (n=1.230
million HIV/AIDS cases reported by the end of 2006) yielded an estimate of 55 400
(95% CI, 50 000-60 800) new infections per year for 2003-2006 and indicated that
HIV incidence increased in the mid-1990s, then slightly declined after 1999 and has
been stable thereafter.
Conclusions This study provides the first direct estimates of HIV incidence in the
United States using laboratory technologies previously implemented only in clinicbased settings. New HIV infections in the United States remain concentrated among
men who have sex with men and among black individuals.
current transmission patterns. In addition, with the change in the AIDS case
definition in 1993 and the advent of effective treatments that slow disease progression to AIDS, back-calculation
models based exclusively on incident
AIDS cases are no longer valid because the incubation period from HIV
infection to AIDS diagnosis is difficult
to estimate and inconsistently ascertained on a population level. Estimates of the annual number of new in-
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JAMA. 2008;300(5):520-529
Author Affiliations: Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta,
Georgia (Drs Hall, Song, Rhodes, Prejean, Lee, McKenna,
and Janssen); The Ginn Group Inc, Peachtree City, Georgia (Ms An); Emergint Corporation, Louisville, Kentucky (Dr Karon); Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of
Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland (Dr Brookmeyer); and
Yale School of Management, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Yale School of Medicine, and
Yale School of Engineering and Applied Science, New
Haven, Connecticut (Dr Kaplan). Dr Janssen is now with
Gilead Sciences Inc, Foster City, California.
Members of the HIV Incidence Surveillance Group are
listed at the end of this article.
Corresponding Author: H. Irene Hall, PhD, MS E-47,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600
Clifton Rd NE, Atlanta, GA 30333 (ixh1@cdc.gov).
©2008 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
ESTIMATION OF HIV INCIDENCE IN THE UNITED STATES
fections in the United States have also
been derived from HIV incidence observed in cohort studies.6 However, this
method was based on small, select
populations that did not produce population-based estimates and did not provide trends in incidence over time.
The development of laboratory assays that differentiate recent vs longstanding HIV infections now makes it
possible to directly measure HIV incidence.7-9 Building on the existing infrastructure of the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) national HIV/AIDS case reporting system, we used the new technology to
implement population-based HIV incidence surveillance. As a part of the
new system, remnant serum specimens from persons who have a new diagnosis with a confirmed positive HIV
antibody test result are tested with a second antibody assay, the BED HIV-1 capture enzyme immunoassay (BED),8
which distinguishes recent (on average, 156 days after seroconversion on
standard diagnostic assays [R.H. Byers, PhD, unpublished data, July 2005])
from long-standing infections. The BED
assay uses antibodies to detect all HIV
subtypes (ie, HIV-1 subtypes B, E, and
D gp41 immunodominant sequences
are included on a branched peptide
used in the assay). The assay detects levels of anti-HIV IgG relative to total IgG
and is based on the observation that the
ratio of anti-HIV IgG to total IgG increases with time shortly after HIV infection. If a confirmed HIV-1–positive
specimen is reactive on the standard
sensitive enzyme immunoassay and has
a normalized optical density of less than
0.8 on the BED assay, the source patient is considered recently infected.
The combination of diagnostic testing
(confirmed HIV antibody–positive) followed by testing for recent infection is
known as the serologic testing algorithm for recent HIV seroconversion
(STARHS).9
Estimation of HIV incidence with extended back-calculation models that incorporate all known infected cases and
that attempt to use more information
about cases than just their AIDS diag-
nosis date has been performed in Italy,
England, and Australia for about the last
10 years.10-12 In the United States, national AIDS surveillance data were used
historically for back-calculation of HIV
incidence2-5; information for extended
back-calculation was not available. Recent advances in HIV case surveillance in addition to AIDS case surveillance in the United States have made
the use of this approach feasible at the
national level. The purpose of this
analysis was to estimate HIV incidence in the United States in 2006. We
estimated incidence based on the
STARHS method and corroborated this
estimate with an extended backcalculation approach using information on HIV diagnoses and AIDS incidence.
METHODS
Additional details of the study methods are provided in the eMethods (available at http://www.jama.com). In brief,
since 1982, all 50 US states and the District of Columbia have reported AIDS
cases to the CDC using a standardized
case report form. In 1994, the CDC
implemented data management for national reporting of HIV integrated with
AIDS case reporting, at which time 25
states with confidential, name-based
HIV reporting started submitting case
reports to the CDC. Over time, additional states implemented namebased HIV reporting and started reporting these cases to the CDC. In 2004, the
CDC funded selected areas to implement HIV incidence surveillance.13
All data were collected as part of routine HIV/AIDS surveillance as mandated by state or local laws or regulations. In reviews according to the CDC’s
Guidelines for Defining Public Health
Research and Public Health NonResearch14 and based on Title 45 Part
46 of the Code of Federal Regulations,15 the CDC determined in 2005
and again in 2007 that HIV incidence
surveillance is not a research activity
and therefore does not require review
by an institutional review board. Demographic information, including race/
ethnicity, is collected from medical rec-
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ords as part of routine HIV and AIDS
surveillance. Because the rates of HIV/
AIDS vary widely by race/ethnicity16 and
this information is used to prioritize
populations for HIV prevention and
care efforts and resource allocation, we
included analyses by race/ethnicity. The
data analyses for this article were generated using SAS version 9.1.3 (SAS Institute Inc, Cary, North Carolina)17 and
APL*PLUS III (Manugistics Inc, Rockville, Maryland).18
Stratified Extrapolation Approach
Analyses were based on all individuals
13 years or older with HIV (HIV diagnosed with or without concurrent AIDS
diagnosis) diagnosed in 2006 in 22
states (Alabama, Arizona, Colorado,
Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New
York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee,
Texas, Virginia, and Washington) that
had confidential, name-based HIV case
reporting and HIV incidence surveillance implemented in 2006. Information on HIV cases was reported to the
CDC through June 2007. The incidence surveillance areas represent approximately 73% of all AIDS cases diagnosed in 2006 in the United States.
Information was obtained on age, sex,
race/ethnicity (white, black, Hispanic,
Asian/Pacific Islander, American Indian/
Alaska Native), transmission category
(men who have sex with men [MSM],
injection drug use [IDU], MSM and IDU
[MSM/IDU], heterosexual contact,
other), HIV testing history, STARHS result, and antiretroviral treatment. Infections in persons diagnosed with AIDS
concurrently or within 6 months after
HIV diagnosis were classified as longstanding infections.
We estimated population-based HIV
incidence using a statistical approach
analogous to that used to estimate a
population total from a sample survey.19 In a sample survey, the weight for
a sampled person is the inverse of the
sampling probability, and the population total (ie, the number of persons in
the sampling frame [which includes un-
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521
ESTIMATION OF HIV INCIDENCE IN THE UNITED STATES
tested HIV-positive individuals]) is the
sum of the estimated weights. All infections in a year were estimated using
the probability of testing within 1 year
of infection (described by the term p1
in the eMethods at http://www.jama
.com for the stratified extrapolation approach). Each individual identified as
recently infected is assigned a weight
that is then used to estimate the total
incidence, including the “hidden”
group of untested HIV-positive individuals. All persons infected in 2006
(including those not diagnosed) represented the sampling frame, and those
identified as recently infected represented the sample selected from the
sampling frame. Each sampled case was
weighted according to the inverse of the
estimated probability that a case of similar demographic and risk characteristics was in the sample. The estimated
weight depends on the estimated probability that an infected person was tested
within 1 year after infection, the probability that a person diagnosed with HIV
had a BED test result, and the probability that the BED result for a person
tested within 1 year after infection was
“recent.” The probability of being tested
within 1 year after infection was estimated separately for those whose first
HIV test result was positive (first-time
testers) and those who had a previous
negative result (repeat testers). For persons previously tested, this probability was estimated assuming that the infection date was uniformly distributed
from the date of the last HIV-negative
result to the date of the first HIVpositive result. For persons with no previous test, this probability was estimated from a competing-events model,
the events being an HIV test or an AIDS
diagnosis, assuming that HIV testing
hazard (likelihood of having an HIV
test) was a constant after infection until AIDS diagnosis.
Because HIV testing history and BED
results were not available for most cases
diagnosed in 2006 (TABLE 1), a 20fold multiple imputation procedure20
was used (12 067 individuals [36%] had
information on testing history and 6864
[30%] with HIV [no AIDS diagnosis
within 6 months] had a BED test). First
we imputed BED values (recent or longterm infection) for HIV cases without
AIDS (no AIDS diagnosis within 6
months after HIV diagnosis) and missing BED test results; then we imputed
previous testing status (previously
tested or not tested) for cases with missing information on this variable. The
time from the last HIV-negative test result to the first HIV-positive result was
Table 1. Estimated Incidence of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection, 50 US States and the District of Columbia
Stratified Extrapolation Approach
22 States, No. (%) a
Characteristic
Total
Sex
Male
Female
Race/ethnicity e
White
Black
Hispanic
Asian/Pacific Islander
American Indian/
Alaska Native
Age, y
13-29
30-39
40-49
50-99
Transmission category
MSM
IDU
MSM/IDU
Heterosexual
BED
Tested b
6864
2006
Diagnoses c
39 400
2006
Incidence
40 800
50 States ⫹ DC, 2006
Incidence, No. (%) [95% CI] d
56 300 [48 200-64 500]
Extended Back-Calculation Approach,
50 States ⫹ DC, Incidence per Year,
2003-2006, No. (%) [95% CI] d
55 400 [50 000-60 800]
4892 (71)
1972 (29)
28 900 (73)
10 600 (27)
29 300 (72)
11 500 (28)
41 400 (73) [35 100-47 700]
15 000 (27) [12 600-17 300]
42 000 (76) [37 400-46 600]
13 400 (24) [11 000-15 800]
1707 (25)
3825 (56)
1190 (17)
78 (1)
21 (⬍1)
11 400 (29)
20 000 (51)
7000 (18)
440 (1)
130 (⬍1)
13 100 (33)
19 600 (49)
6800 (17)
590 (1)
180 (⬍1)
19 600 (35) [16 400-22 800]
24 900 (45) [21 100-28 700]
9700 (17) [7900-11 600]
1200 (2) [490-1900]
290 (1) [60-500]
17 700 (32) [14 700-20 700]
27 800 (50) [24 200-31 400]
8600 (16) [6200-11 000]
1000 (2) [200-1800]
300 (⬍1) [50-700]
2790 (41)
1892 (28)
1539 (22)
643 (9)
13 100 (33)
12 100 (31)
9800 (25)
4400 (11)
14 100 (35)
12 500 (31)
9900 (24)
4300 (11)
19 200 (34) [16 300-22 200]
17 400 (31) [14 600-20 200]
13 900 (25) [11 700-16 100]
5800 (10) [4600-7100]
21 200 (38) [17 000-25 400]
16 800 (30) [13 600-20 000]
12 300 (22) [9100-15 500]
5100 (9) [2900-7300]
3582 (52)
749 (11)
182 (3)
18 400 (48)
5600 (15)
1200 (3)
20 100 (51)
4900 (12)
1400 (3)
28 700 (53) [24 300-33 100]
6600 (12) [5300-7900]
2100 (4) [1500-2700]
31 200 (56) [25 400-37 000]
5900 (11) [3500-8300]
1600 (3) [400-2800]
2328 (34)
13 100 (34)
13 100 (33)
16 800 (31) [14 200-19 400]
16 400 (30) [12 600-20 200]
Abbreviations: BED, BED human immunodeficiency virus 1 capture enzyme immunoassay; CI, confidence interval; IDU, injection drug use; MSM, men who have sex with men.
a Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington.
b Numbers do not count individuals diagnosed with AIDS at or within 6 mo after human immunodeficiency virus diagnosis; these were risk redistributed but not adjusted for reporting
delay.
c Numbers for 2006 diagnoses were adjusted for reporting delay and risk redistribution.
d Confidence intervals reflect random variability affecting model uncertainty but may not reflect model-assumption uncertainty; thus, they should be interpreted with caution.
e Race/ethnicity and transmission category subgroup numbers may not sum to the overall total because cases with unknown race/ethnicity or unknown transmission categories are
excluded. However, percentages are adjusted for the exclusion and sum to 100%.
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ESTIMATION OF HIV INCIDENCE IN THE UNITED STATES
also generated for cases with missing
information on previous test date but
assigned to the previously tested group
through imputation. See the eMethods at http://www.jama.com for more
details.
Case counts were adjusted for reporting delays.21 Cases reported without risk
factor information were redistributed
among transmission categories based on
the classification of transmission category (by sex, race/ethnicity, and region) of cases diagnosed 3 to 10 years
earlier and initially reported without risk
factor information but later reclassified
based on information obtained through
follow-up investigations.22 Incidence
data from the 22 states were extrapolated to all 50 states and the District of
Columbia. We assumed that the ratio of
HIV incidence to AIDS incidence in the
22 states was equal to the ratio in the
other areas when cases were stratified by
sex, race/ethnicity, age, and transmission category.
Point estimates are the mean values
of the estimates from the 20 multiple
imputation data sets. Confidence interval (CI) estimates were obtained by
normal approximation with standard
errors of estimates derived using the
delta method and include the variability among the 20 data sets.20,23 We conducted sensitivity analyses to determine whether data on individuals who
sought testing because of a specific exposure event would bias incidence estimates. During 2006, information was
collected on reasons for testing newly
diagnosed persons in the areas participating in incidence surveillance (reasons included potential exposure to HIV
in the past 6 months, getting tested on
a regular basis [eg, once a year or every 6 months], checking to confirm
HIV-negative status, or testing required [eg, insurance, military, or court
order]).
Crude incidence rates per 100 000
population were calculated by sex, race/
ethnicity, and age (population denominators were not available by transmission category). Population denominators
for rates were based on official postcensus estimates for 2006 from the US Cen-
sus Bureau24 and on bridged-race estimates for 2006 obtained from the CDC’s
National Center for Health Statistics.25
Extended Back-Calculation Approach
We used an extended back-calculation model based on the earliest time
that individuals were known to be infected with HIV11 and a dichotomous
measure of disease severity at diagnosis: whether the individuals received an
AIDS diagnosis in the same year they
were first diagnosed as HIV-positive.
We estimated the national HIV incidence per year for 1977-2006 using information from the national HIV/
AIDS Reporting System on individuals
13 years or older diagnosed with HIV
prior to the end of 2006 and reported
to the CDC by the end of June 2007.
AIDS cases were reported by all states
and the District of Columbia for the entire reporting period. Forty states provided both HIV and AIDS diagnoses,
while 10 states (California, Delaware,
Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont) and the District of Columbia provided only AIDS diagnoses.
We included year of HIV diagnosis, year
of AIDS diagnosis, state of residence at
diagnosis, sex, race/ethnicity, transmission category, and age at first diagnosis.
Adjustments were made to the surveillance data to obtain the estimated
number of HIV diagnoses by year and
disease severity (ie, whether an individual had AIDS). Adjustments were
made for reporting delay, underreporting of cases, detection and elimination of duplicate reports, and misclassification of the first diagnosis date;
these adjustments were based on information from prior studies.21,26
Original back-calculation models
used the date of AIDS diagnosis to estimate HIV incidence. These models estimated the distribution of the time of
infection of the observed AIDS cases
using assumptions about the distribution of the incubation period for an
AIDS diagnosis following HIV infection and the possible shape of the HIV
incidence curve. The assumptions about
the incubation period also indicated the
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proportions of infected individuals by
year of infection who would be expected to be AIDS-free at the date specified for the analysis. The 2 sets of estimates were then combined to provide
estimates of HIV incidence by year.
By contrast, in our extended backcalculation model the disease history information of interest was the calendar
year in which the individual was first
diagnosed with HIV, along with an indicator of whether the individual was
also diagnosed with AIDS during the
same calendar year.
The relevant incubation period in our
extended back-calculation model was
the time from infection to first HIV diagnosis. The distribution of this period
depends both on the rate of progression to AIDS diagnosis and on the rate
of diagnosis by HIV testing prior to AIDS
among undiagnosed infected individuals. That is, to remain undiagnosed from
infection to some later period, an infected individual must avoid diagnosis
by either of those reasons in each intervening period. Since treatments only occur after initial HIV diagnosis, they do
not affect the type of incubation period
used in the extended model.
The extended model estimates the
year of infection conditional on both the
calendar year first diagnosed and the
stage of disease at diagnosis; ie, for diagnoses from any particular year, patients with an AIDS diagnosis at or soon
after the initial HIV diagnosis will have
a different distribution for the estimated year infected compared with
those without an AIDS diagnosis at or
near the initial diagnosis. Individuals
with a simultaneous AIDS diagnosis will
have an earlier estimated average year
of infection compared with those without a simultaneous AIDS diagnosis.
The estimation of the year of infection involves 3 sets of parameters: (1)
AIDS hazards (the AIDS hazard in a designated year is the probability that an
individual is diagnosed with AIDS in
that year, given that he or she was AIDSfree at the beginning of the year) by time
since infection in untreated infected individuals; (2) HIV testing rate by year
in infected individuals prior to AIDS di-
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ESTIMATION OF HIV INCIDENCE IN THE UNITED STATES
agnosis; and (3) number of HIV infections by year.
The AIDS diagnosis hazards were
based on the published literature and
assumed to have been correctly specified in our model. The 2 sets of parameters for HIV testing hazards and the
number of HIV infections were estimated by the model subject to assumptions about the relationship of the parameters within each set, which are
necessary to ensure the stability of the
model. Within each set we grouped together calendar years to form periods
in which the parameters within a set
were assumed to be constant. For example, for HIV incidence, the 30 years
covered by the analysis (1977-2006)
was reduced to a smaller number of intervals, eg, the model was forced to estimate that the same number of infections occurred in the years 2000, 2001,
and 2002. It is important to note that
the HIV testing parameters estimated
herein do not represent the rate of HIV
testing in the general population.
Rather, they reflect the rate of removal by HIV testing from the pool of
undiagnosed infected individuals who
are not close to an AIDS diagnosis. In
the simple version of the model, for
which these rates depend only on calendar time but not time since infection, the estimated HIV testing rate for
a single calendar year would be calculated as a proportion, with the numerator equal to the number of new HIV diagnoses without an AIDS diagnosis in
that year divided by a denominator
equal to the estimated number of undiagnosed cases carried over from the
previous calendar year, plus new infections occurring in the current calendar year minus the number of new
diagnoses that are simultaneous HIV/
AIDS cases in the current year.
While fitting models, estimates and
goodness-of-fit statistics were examined to determine whether any adjustments needed to be made to the specified periods (eg, whether periods
needed to be broken into shorter periods). The defining of periods required
a compromise between avoiding too
many periods (and thereby unstable
524
models due to more estimated parameters) and the need for smaller periods (especially for the early years of the
epidemic) to capture the variation likely
to be present in the data. The number
and lengths of the intervals used to estimate HIV incidence were chosen
based both on prior information about
the likely shape of the incidence curve
at different stages of the epidemic (eg,
steep increases in incidence in the early
1980s, relatively stable incidence from
the mid 1990s to the present) and experience gained by evaluating a variety of models with varying numbers of
intervals and interval lengths. We used
an approach based on approximating
the shape of the incidence curve with
a step function that uses a moderate
number of intervals having varying
lengths.
The results presented herein, ie,
2-year intervals in the early part of the
epidemic vs 3-year or 4-year intervals in
the latter part of the epidemic, reflect that
estimated incidence changed more rapidly in the early part of the epidemic.
When estimating total US incidence, the
number of intervals could have been reduced; ie, the estimates in some contiguous intervals were essentially equal.
However, we wished to directly illustrate these small differences rather than
only stating that the estimates were similar. Additionally, at other levels, eg,
analysis by risk group, race, or sex, the
estimated incidences were not so similar as to justify combining the intervals. The HIV testing rates were restricted to be dependent on calendar
time, not on time since infection.27 However, this assumption does not preclude the possibility that within any year
there may be groups of infected individuals with different rates of HIV testing (eg, variation by time since infection). Rather, the assumption merely
requires that the average probability of
diagnosis via HIV testing is the same
across years that were grouped together.
Sensitivity analyses were conducted
for the effect of the specified AIDS hazards. We assessed the sensitivity of the
model results to the particular values we
used by refitting the back-calculation
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model using alternative values for the
AIDS hazards that were proportionally
larger or smaller than the original values (up to 20% larger or smaller).
RESULTS
Stratified Extrapolation Approach
A total of 33 802 persons 13 years or
older were diagnosed with HIV in 2006
in the 22 incidence surveillance states
and reported to the CDC through June
2007 (39 400 adjusted for reporting delays). A total of 6864 persons with HIV
who were not diagnosed with AIDS
within 6 months after HIV diagnosis had
BED results (2133 [31%] were classified as having recent infections and 4731
as having long-term infections). Of
12 067 cases with information on having had a previous test, 7604 (63%) had
a previous negative test result. Among
the individuals who had their specimens BED tested, a slightly higher proportion were black and in younger age
groups compared with all cases diagnosed in the 22 states in 2006 (Table 1).
An estimated 56 300 adolescents and
adults were newly infected with HIV in
2006 in the United States (95% confidence interval [CI], 48 200-64 500)
(Table 1), with a rate of 22.8 per 100 000
population (95% CI, 19.5-26.1)
(TABLE 2). Seventy-three percent of the
infections occurred among males, 45%
among blacks, 35% among whites, and
17% among Hispanics (Table 1). More
than half (53%) of the infections were
attributed to MSM. The HIV incidence
rate was 7 times as high among blacks
(83.7; 95% CI, 70.9-96.5) as among
whites (11.5; 95% CI, 9.6-13.4)
(Table 2). The rate among Hispanics
(29.3; 95% CI, 23.8-35.0) was almost 3
times as high as that among whites.
Sensitivity analyses based on data
from individuals who sought testing because of a specific perceived exposure
event showed that the incidence estimate would be less than 7% lower than
our current estimate, which is within
the 95% CI of our estimate.
Back-Calculation Approach
Through June 2007, 1.230 million
individuals (aged ⱖ13 years at diag-
©2008 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
ESTIMATION OF HIV INCIDENCE IN THE UNITED STATES
ing the same set of periods for the testing hazards and the numbers of infections did not change results substantially
(data not shown).
COMMENT
The national HIV incidence estimates
for the United States for 2006 from both
methods used are within the range of
estimates from back-calculation models in the early to mid 1990s but higher
than the CDC estimate from 2001.6 A
back-calculation that accounted for the
age-dependent AIDS incubation distributions estimated 55 000 new infections (95% CI, 49 500-60 700) for the
United States each year during 19871991. 3 Using an alternative backcalculation method, Rosenberg4 later reported an average of 40 000 to 80 000
new infections each year from 1987 to
1992. The prior back-calculation estimates were based on national AIDS surveillance data provided by the CDC.
Another method extrapolating from incidence estimates from studies among
convenience samples of MSM to the
general US population estimated HIV
incidence at approximately 40 000 infections per year.6
The independence of the methods we
used and time frames studied suggest
Table 2. Estimated Rates of New Human
Immunodeficiency Virus Infections, 50 US
States and the District of Columbia, 2006 a
Characteristic
Total
Sex
Male
Female
Race/ethnicity
White
Black
Hispanic
Asian/Pacific Islander
American Indian/
Alaska Native
Age, y
13-29
30-39
40-49
50-99
Rate (95% CI) b
22.8 (19.5-26.1)
34.3 (29.1-39.5)
11.9 (10.0-13.7)
11.5 (9.6-13.4)
83.7 (70.9-96.5)
29.3 (23.8-35.0)
10.3 (4.2-16.3)
14.6 (3.0-25.2)
26.8 (22.8-31.0)
42.6 (35.7-49.4)
30.7 (25.8-35.6)
6.5 (5.1-7.9)
Abbreviation: CI, confidence interval.
a Stratified extrapolation approach. See Table 1 for numerator information.
b Per 100 000 population; postcensus estimates from the
US Bureau of the Census.
Total
Male
Female
140 000
120 000
100 000
80 000
60 000
40 000
20 000
0
19771979
1980- 1982- 1984- 19861981 1983 1985 1987
19881990
19911993
19941996
19971999
20002002
20032006
Period
Tick marks denote beginning and ending of a year. The model specified periods within which the number of
HIV infections was assumed to be approximately constant.
©2008 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
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that the similar results for 2006 have
validity. The discrepancy between our
estimate for 2006 based on the stratified extrapolation method and the
CDC’s earlier estimate of 40 000 new
infections per year6 could be due to bias
in the current estimate, limitations of
the methods used for our previous estimate (eg, incidence may not have been
Figure 1. Estimated New Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Infections, Extended
Back-Calculation Model, 50 US States and the District of Columbia, 1977-2006
Infections
nosis) had been reported to the CDC
as having been diagnosed with HIV
infection (with or without AIDS diagnosis) by the end of 2006. Accounting
for reporting delays, state systems
providing only AIDS cases, and
underreporting of HIV cases, an estimated 247 000 additional individuals
were diagnosed with HIV by the end
of 2006 but not yet reported to the
CDC.
The model estimates indicated that
HIV incidence increased sharply after
1977, with a peak in 1984-1985 of approximately 130 000 infections per year
(FIGURE 1). Incidence decreased after
1985 and reached a low point in the
early 1990s, with approximately 49 000
infections per year. Incidence again
peaked in the late 1990s at approximately 58 000 incident infections and
decreased to 55 000 per year in the most
recent intervals (ie, 2000-2002 and
2003-2006). Incidence among males
mirrored the overall trend, but among
females, incidence increased more
slowly until the late 1980s, decreased
toward the early 1990s, and then remained relatively stable.
Throughout most of the epidemic,
except in the late 1980s and early 1990s,
MSM (not including MSM/IDU) had the
largest estimated incidence (FIGURE 2).
The trend in HIV incidence for MSM
has been steadily increasing since the
early 1990s. For 2003-2006, MSM continued to account for more than half of
the estimated incidence (Table 1).
Blacks, whites, and Hispanics, respectively, accounted for about one-half,
one-third, and one-sixth of current incidence. HIV incidence increased
sharply after 1977 among whites, with
a peak in 1984-1985 of more than
72 000 infections per year (FIGURE 3).
Incidence increased more gradually after 1977 among blacks and Hispanics,
with peak incidence during the late
1980s of approximately 46 000 infections per year among blacks and approximately 16 000 infections per year
among Hispanics.
Sensitivity analyses based on reanalyzing the data using different values for
the AIDS hazards (±20%) while retain-
(Reprinted) JAMA, August 6, 2008—Vol 300, No. 5
525
ESTIMATION OF HIV INCIDENCE IN THE UNITED STATES
Figure 2. Estimated New Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Infections by Transmission
Category, Extended Back-Calculation Model, 50 US States and the District of Columbia,
1977-2006
MSM
IDU
MSM/IDU
Heterosexual
80 000
70 000
60 000
Infections
50 000
40 000
30 000
20 000
10 000
0
19771979
1980- 1982- 1984- 19861981 1983 1985 1987
19881990
19911993
19941996
19971999
20002002
20032006
Period
Tick marks denote beginning and ending of a year. The model specified periods within which the number of
HIV infections was assumed to be approximately constant. MSM indicates men who have sex with men; IDU,
injection drug use.
as low as 40 000), or an increase in HIV
incidence.
Our incidence estimate based on the
STARHS method could be an overestimate if the proportion of cases classified as recently infected in our sample
was higher than that which would have
been observed in the general population of individuals diagnosed with HIV
or if we underestimated the probability of testing within 1 year after infection. Individuals who get tested more
frequently are more likely to get tested
within 1 year after infection and to be
identified as having been recently infected. National surveys show differences in testing frequency; for example, a higher proportion of MSM
report having had a test within the preceding 12 months,28 compared with individuals in the general population.29,30 However, we attempted to
control for a possible bias in our sample
by multiple imputation and stratified
analyses.
The minor differences between our
estimates within some of the subpopulations are likely due to differences between the methods and also because the
stratified extrapolation approach provides estimates for 2006, while the ex526
tended back-calculation model provides estimates averaged over 4 years
(ie, the CIs reflect model uncertainty
but cannot be used to compare the
models). The extended back-calculation approach is less suited to identify
very recent changes in trends. However, the extended back-calculation
model also can provide prevalence estimates that, in context with reported
HIV diagnoses and deaths, further corroborate the plausibility of our estimates.
Our incidence estimates continue to
demonstrate the disproportionate distribution of HIV infection among blacks
(incidence rate, 83.7/100 000) and Hispanics (29.3/100 000) compared with
whites (11.5/100 000).16 The CDC is
working with public health partners and
community leaders to address disparities in HIV disease through the Heightened National Response to the HIV/
AIDS Crisis Among African Americans.16
Not only will novel, sustained efforts be
needed to reduce incidence among African Americans and Hispanics, but increasing the availability of programs will
be critical as well.
Overall trends in HIV incidence can
mask trends in subpopulations. Based
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on the back-calculation results, for example, incidence increased nationally
in the late 1990s; however, among those
exposed through IDU, incidence remained relatively stable throughout the
mid and late 1990s and then decreased. Overall, HIV incidence among
individuals exposed through IDU has
decreased approximately 80% in the
United States. Over that time, those exposed through IDU have reduced
needle sharing by using sterile syringes available through needle exchange programs or pharmacies and
have reduced the number of individuals with whom they share needles.31,32
However, the relative contribution of
each of these interventions has been difficult to determine.
Currently, we do not have STARHSbased trend data to determine whether
the changes in HIV diagnoses in recent
years are due to changes in HIV transmission or testing for HIV.33,34 The results from the extended back-calculation model suggest that HIV incidence
among MSM was lowest in the early
1990s and increased thereafter. During
this time, annual HIV diagnoses decreased until 1999 and then increased
in the 25 states with low-to-moderate
prevalence that had HIV reporting.35 Increases in HIV diagnoses have also been
observed in other Western countries.36
This suggests that without incidence
data, delays may occur in recognizing a
resurgence of HIV infections among certain populations, which in turn may delay implementation of needed prevention efforts.
Based on the back-calculation results, incidence trends are also different for the various racial/ethnic groups.
The annual HIV incidence among blacks
surpassed the incidence among whites
in the late 1980s, when incidence among
whites decreased. Incidence among
blacks did not decrease substantially until the early 1990s. Incidence among Hispanics, while lower, mirrors the trends
among blacks rather than among whites.
Incidence is low among Asians/Pacific
Islanders and American Indians/
Alaska Natives; therefore, trends are
more difficult to interpret.
©2008 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
ESTIMATION OF HIV INCIDENCE IN THE UNITED STATES
test result is unknown; future studies are
needed to validate this information. We
extrapolated estimates of HIV incidence from the 22 incidence surveillance states to 50 states and Washington DC, assuming that the ratio of HIV
incidence to AIDS incidence in the 22
states is similar to the ratio in the other
areas after adjusting for sex, race/
ethnicity, age, and transmission categories. As a proxy, we compared the ratio
of HIV diagnoses to AIDS diagnoses in
the 22 states included in our analyses to
that ratio in other areas with HIV re-
White
Black
Hispanic
Asian/Pacific Islander
American Indian/Alaska Native
80 000
70 000
60 000
Infections
50 000
40 000
30 000
20 000
10 000
0
19771979
1980- 1982- 1984- 19861981 1983 1985 1987
19881990
19911993
19941996
19971999
20002002
20032006
19941996
19971999
20002002
20032006
Period
1200
Asian/Pacific Islander
American Indian/Alaska Native
1000
800
600
400
200
0
19771979
1980- 1982- 1984- 19861981 1983 1985 1987
19881990
19911993
Period
Tick marks denote beginning and ending of a year. The model specified periods within which the number of
HIV infections was assumed to be approximately constant. Y-axis in blue indicates values in the range of 0-1200.
©2008 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
Downloaded From: https://jamanetwork.com/ on 06/07/2020
porting that were not part of our analyses and found similar results. The CIs
presented reflect random variability and
may not reflect model-assumption uncertainty; therefore, they should be interpreted with caution. Finally, population denominator data are needed to
calculate rates for at-risk populations in
the future.
Concerns have been raised about the
accuracy of the BED test, because incidence appeared to be overestimated
when using BED results in Africa and
Thailand.38,39 The primary concern is
Figure 3. Estimated New Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Infections, by Race/Ethnicity,
Extended Back-Calculation Model, 50 US States and the District of Columbia, 1977-2006
Infections
Our estimates depend on a number
of assumptions that may affect the accuracy of the results. In the stratified
extrapolation approach, we assumed
that information on previous tests and
BED results were missing at random after accounting for all variables known
to be associated with missing values in
the multiple imputation models. For example, HIV incidence surveillance was
implemented in some areas by first enrolling public laboratories to submit
specimens for BED testing and then
adding additional laboratories; therefore, we controlled for facility type in
the imputation models. However, the
possibility exists that unobserved variables were associated with missing previous test or BED results and that associations cannot be explained by the
observed variables.
We further assumed that testing behavior has not changed substantially
over several years, which would affect
the probability of testing within 1 year
after infection. Evidence exists that testing rates have changed little,37 and such
changes would have a small effect on
our results because a large proportion
of persons diagnosed with HIV have
been previously tested.
A further assumption is that testing
and infection are independent; however, persons recently infected may have
a tendency to be tested in the period immediately following HIV infection. Sensitivity analyses performed on data from
those who sought testing because of a
possible exposure event showed that the
incidence estimate would be less than
7% lower than our estimate, which is
within the 95% CI of our estimate. Bias
due to heterogeneity of testing frequency and other possible reasons for
early testing, such as having a concomitant sexually transmitted disease, is also
minimized by stratifying the population as in our model. Bias due to testing because of a sexually transmitted
disease is controlled for using the surrogate variable facility of diagnosis as
a stratification variable in the imputation model.
The accuracy of the information on
whether cases had a previous negative
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527
ESTIMATION OF HIV INCIDENCE IN THE UNITED STATES
the misclassification of specimens as recent among persons with long-term
HIV infection or AIDS, which overestimates the proportion of specimens
classified as recent. To reduce this concern in the United States, the BED test
is not used for persons with AIDS. Instead, incidence surveillance systems
collect information on disease severity (whether an individual had AIDS)
and we classified infections among individuals diagnosed with AIDS within
6 months after HIV diagnosis as longterm. However, we cannot rule out potential misclassification among those
who have been infected for several years
but not diagnosed with AIDS. Other factors also differ between the United
States and some other countries; for example, in the United States there are low
levels of chronic coinfection (that is, few
individuals have hypergammaglobulinemia that may yield false recent BED
results), and additional information is
collected (eg, last negative test result).40
Several factors may affect the accuracy of incidence estimates from the
extended back-calculation approach,
resulting in underestimates or overestimates of incidence. First, accurate
adjustments for reporting delay, underreporting of cases, detection and elimination of duplicate reports, and misclassification of the first diagnosis date need
to be made to the surveillance data. Errors in assumptions about contributions from reporting delays and duplicate reports will have much larger effects
on estimates of diagnoses in recent years
(eg, 2005, 2006) compared with earlier
years. Such errors then would also have
a similar pattern of effects on estimates
of HIV incidence. The method further depends on accurate specification of the
AIDS incubation distribution. Variation in the AIDS diagnosis hazard appeared to have little effect on results.
While fitting models, periods are combined (ie, with similar incidence), and
an estimate for a particular year may
change considerably depending on the
period in which that year is placed. Finally, for the version of the model presented herein it was assumed that the
HIV testing hazard is mostly dependent
528
on calendar time and not on time since
infection. However, this simplification
generally does not distort the HIV incidence estimates as long as the model contains a sufficiently large number of periods for the HIV testing hazards.
Since 2002, the CDC has launched
new prevention initiatives that included expanding HIV prevention to individuals living with HIV, increasing
HIV testing,41 and expanding the use
of proven behavioral interventions in
prevention programs for high-risk populations.42 Condoms are highly effective
in preventing the sexual transmission of
HIV infection43 but frequently are not
used.44 HIV counseling and testing has
been found to reduce high-risk behavior by approximately 68% among individuals who find they are infected with
HIV.45 Most behavioral interventions reduce risk behavior by 20% to more than
40%.46 Many of these interventions have
been implemented in prevention programs across the country, but their reach
must be considerably expanded to accelerate progress. An estimated one quarter of individuals living with HIV do not
know it, and over a recent 1-year period only approximately 15% of MSM
participated in individual-level and 8%
in group-level interventions, among the
most effective behavioral interventions
available.44 A substantial reduction in
HIV incidence will require wider implementation of the effective interventions currently available and the development of additional interventions, such
as antiretroviral chemoprophylaxis or a
vaccine. These new HIV incidence data
can help ensure that HIV prevention resources are allocated to the populations with greatest need and in the future might be used to monitor the
success of these prevention efforts.
Author Contributions: Drs Song and Rhodes had full
access to all of the data in the study and take responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy
of the data analysis.
Study concept and design: Hall, Song, Rhodes,
Prejean, Lee, Karon, Brookmeyer, Kaplan, McKenna,
Janssen.
Acquisition of data: Hall, Prejean, Lee, McKenna.
Analysis and interpretation of data: Hall, Song, Rhodes,
Prejean, An, Karon, Brookmeyer, Kaplan, McKenna,
Janssen.
Drafting of the manuscript: Hall, Song, Rhodes,
Janssen.
JAMA, August 6, 2008—Vol 300, No. 5 (Reprinted)
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Critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content: Hall, Song, Rhodes, Prejean, An,
Lee, Karon, Brookmeyer, Kaplan, McKenna, Janssen.
Statistical analysis: Hall, Song, Rhodes, Prejean, An,
Karon, Brookmeyer, Kaplan.
Obtained funding: Janssen.
Administrative, technical, or material support: Hall,
Prejean, Lee, McKenna.
Study supervision: Hall, Lee, McKenna.
Financial Disclosures: None reported.
Funding/Support: The Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) funds all states and the District of
Columbia to conduct HIV/AIDS surveillance and selected areas to conduct HIV incidence surveillance and
provides technical assistance to all funded areas. Participating investigators and contributors from state or
city health departments were fully or partially supported through CDC funds to states or cities to conduct HIV/AIDS case surveillance and HIV incidence
surveillance. All other participating investigators and
contributors are CDC employees.
Role of the Sponsor: Employees of the CDC conducted the analyses and wrote the report, and the report was reviewed and approved by the CDC.
HIV Incidence Surveillance Group: Anthony Merriweather, MSPH (Alabama); Heidi Mergenthaler, MPH
(Arizona); Jennifer A. Donnelly, BS (Colorado); Heather
Noga, MPH (Connecticut); Stefanie White, MPH
(Florida); Deborah Crippen, BA (Georgia); Marti Merritt, Nanette Benbow, MAS (Illinois); David K. Fields,
BS (Indiana); Samuel Ramirez, MPH (Louisiana); Marianne O’Connor, MPH, MT (ASCP) (Michigan); Melissa Van Dyne, BS (Missouri); Sonita Singh, MPH (Mississippi); Helene Cross, PhD (New Jersey); Lou Smith,
MD, MPH, Yussef Bennani, MPH (New York); Penelope J. Padgett, PhD, MPH (North Carolina); Terrainia
Harris, MPH (Oklahoma); Godwin Obiri, DrPH, MS,
Kathleen A. Brady, MD (Pennsylvania); Kelly
McCormick, MHA (South Carolina); Thomas J. Shavor, MBA (Tennessee); Cheryl L. E. Jablonski, MA, Shirley Chan, MPH (Texas); Nene Diallo, MPH (Virginia);
Alexia Exarchos, MPH (Washington); Barbara DeCausey, BS, Ulana Bodnar, MD, M. Kathleen Glynn, DVM,
MPVM, Timothy Green, PhD, Angela Hernandez, MD,
MPH, Richard Kline, MS, Lillian S. Lin, PhD, Laurie
Linley, MPH, Frances Walker, MSPH, William Wheeler,
BA (Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, CDC, Atlanta,
Georgia).
Additional Information: eMethods are available at http:
//www.jama.com.
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