Gender Disparities and Long-Term Changes of HIV/AIDS Incidence Rate in China and the U.S. From 1994-2019: Age-period-cohort Analysis
Abstract Background: HIV/AIDS is a serious sexually transmitted disease with poor prognosis. So statistical data on burden of HIV/AIDS incidence and epidemic characteristics are valuable for policy making and reducing healthcare costs. This study aims to explore gender disparities of HIV/AIDS incidence and relative risks of HIV/AIDS incidence by gender and age groups in China and U.S. Methods: We extracted data from the 2019 Global Burden of Disease study and compared epidemic characteristic and gender disparities between China and U.S. Then we employed APC model to estimate age-period-cohort effect of HIV/AIDS incidence in both countries. Results: ASIR in China kept growing between 1994 and 2004 then fell to the level of mid-1990s but in U.S. ASIR increased in the past decade. There existed a huge and continuous expanding gender gap in U.S. while it came to widen in China before 2005 then shrunk during 2005-2019. APC analysis showed the age effect and period effect were consistent to the result of incidence comparison between male and female: gender disparities increased with progress of time in both countries and men had higher incidence of HIV/AIDS when they became old in China. Cohort effect indicated later birth groups bear relatively higher risks of incidence than earlier birth groups. Conclusions: large gender disparities could worsen the HIV epidemic situation. In the U.S., disparities continuously expanded meanwhile incidence of HIV/AIDS was increasing, while gap was under control in China and incidence curbed. Analyzing by APC model, besides younger age groups exposed to high risks of HIV/AIDS incidence in both countries, elder citizens in China faced higher risks which implies aging of population may lead another wave of HIV/AIDS epidemic. Therefore, both young and old age groups deserve to be noticed by police-makers and narrow gender disparities should put on agenda.