Understanding the HIV/AIDS Epidemic in the United States—The Role of Syndemics in Shaping the Public’s Health

Author(s):  
Eric R. Wright ◽  
Neal Carnes ◽  
Matthew Colón-Diaz
Author(s):  
Jeremy Youde

A reciprocal relationship exists between HIV/AIDS and LGBT organizing, both historically and in the current era. This chapter analyses the dynamics of the interconnection between these movements since the first description of the disease we now know as AIDS appeared in 1981. It begins by describing the emergence of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 1980s and how the first organizations dedicated to HIV/AIDS emerged out of and drew inspiration from LGBT groups. It then looks at the specific cases of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) and the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) and how both groups linked their activism strategies to previous LGBT organizing experiences in the United States and South Africa, respectively. The chapter then examines the reciprocal relationships between the domestic and international levels in HIV/AIDS and LGBT politics. Finally, it explores the tensions between the HIV/AIDS and LGBT movements and the lines of division within the HIV/AIDS movement itself.


PLoS Medicine ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. e1003057
Author(s):  
Amy Griffin ◽  
Antigone Dempsey ◽  
Wendy Cousino ◽  
Latham Avery ◽  
Harold Phillips ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 1445-1474
Author(s):  
Jonathon Catlin

This article critically interrogates historical analogies made between the Covid-19 pandemic and HIV/AIDS epidemic in American public discourse, highlighting the role of cultural memory and normative frameworks of ‘crisis’ and its temporalities in shaping collective responses. It situates the Covid-19 pandemic in a multidirectional mnemonic frame by analysing borrowings from other usable pasts, particularly the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States, which in turn drew upon memory of the Holocaust. A reading of Susan Sontag’s ‘The Way We Live Now’ affirms the value of multidirectional cultural borrowing while also revealing its limits. Notably, the ever-growing AIDS Memorial Quilt may serve as a model for memorializing victims of Covid-19. While analogies between pandemics may be comforting or mobilizing, their meaning must remain open to contestation and also preserve particularities and differences. The history of HIV/AIDS centres the question, ‘crisis for whom?’ and cautions against prematurely declaring the ‘end’ of the Covid-19 pandemic.


Author(s):  
Ming-Bo Huang ◽  
Li Ye ◽  
Bing-Yu Liang ◽  
Chuan-Yi Ning ◽  
William Roth ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 237802312110623
Author(s):  
Philip N. Cohen

In this visualization, the author shows the trend in the proportion of households that comprise only one person in 75 countries, representing 73 percent of the world’s population, using national data collected between 1960 and 2019. At the time of the latest observations for each country, the percentage of households that include only one person ranges from 2.6 (Cambodia) to 38 (Switzerland). Europe and the United States have the highest solo living rates, along with two African countries (South Africa and Botswana, both severely affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic), Israel, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico. In all, 53 of the 75 countries exhibit increases in one-person households, including all European countries. Those with (generally much smaller) declines are disproportionately in Africa and Asia, including China and India.


Blood ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 120 (21) ◽  
pp. 4830-4830
Author(s):  
Simon B. Zeichner ◽  
Ana L. Ruiz ◽  
Gabriel P. Suciu ◽  
Alicia Hirzel ◽  
Estelamari Rodriguez

Abstract Abstract 4830 Introduction Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) is a rare low-grade vascular tumor associated with the human herpes virus 8 (HHV-8). The demographics, epidemiology, diagnosis, and treatment for Kaposi's sarcoma changed significantly over the past 30 years with the spread of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the early 1980s, the widespread introduction of combination highly active anti-retroviral treatment (HAART) in the mid 1990s, and finally the advanced aging of the United States population seen in the 2000s. Our Miami Beach community had a very unique position during this time span: It served an extensive elderly population while also serving a population that was one of the epicenters for the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States. Materials and Methods Upon review of the Mount Sinai Medical Center tumor registry database in Miami Beach, FL, 143 cases of KS were identified between January 1st 1987 and December 31st 2007. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the demographic and background variables. The Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazard statistical methods were used to estimate overall survival and clinical variables. A chart review was performed for confirmation of CD4 counts. Results Of the 143 KS patients identified in the database, the majority were non-Hispanic white (60.1%) non-smoking (42.7%) males (90.2%) diagnosed between 1987–1996 (57.3%). More than half of our study population was HIV positive (52.4%), with an equal percentage of patients diagnosed with local or distant disease (40.6%), and most of the patients receiving no chemotherapy (80.4%) or radiation (65%). The overall survival at 5 years was 27% with a median survival time of 24 months. No significant differences in survival were observed among patients based on sex, age at diagnosis, or treatment received. There was a trend towards improved survival among current smokers and patients presenting with local versus distant disease stage. Multivariate analysis and analysis of maximum likelihood estimates revealed that among patients with KS, Hispanic whites were significantly less likely to die than non-Hispanic whites (HR=0.47, 95% CI=(0.29, 0.78), p=0.003). Patients diagnosed between 1997–2007 had a significantly longer survival than those diagnosed between 1987–1996 (HR=0.38 (95% CI 0.24, 0.60), p<0.0001). Conclusion The majority of KS patients identified through our database were young, non-smoking, HIV positive, non-Hispanic white males diagnosed during the peak of the HIV epidemic between 1987 and 1996. Hispanic patients diagnosed with KS during this time period had superior outcomes when compared to non-Hispanic whites. Patients diagnosed from 1997–2007 had superior outcomes when compared to those diagnosed from 1987–1996. There was a trend toward a significance difference in survival among patients based on smoking status and tumor stage at diagnosis. There were no significant differences in survival among patients based on sex, age, or treatment received. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


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