title: HIV risks and seroprevalence among Mexican American injection drug users in California.
abstract: Latinos in the United States are an ethnically diverse group disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS. We describe HIV seroprevalence, HIV risk behaviors and utilization of health services among Mexican American injection drug users (IDUs) in California (n = 286) and compare them to White (n = 830) and African American (n = 314) IDUs. Study participants were recruited from syringe exchange programs (n = 24) in California. HIV seroprevalence among Mexican Americans (0.5%) was dramatically lower than Whites (5%) and African Americans (8%). Mexican Americans reported fewer sex-related risks than Whites and African Americans though injection-related risks remained high. Compared to Whites, Mexican Americans were more likely to participate in drug treatment during a 6 month period (AOR 1.5, 95% CI 1.1, 2.0) but less likely to receive any health care (AOR 0.6, 95% CI 0.5, 0.8). Exploring cultural and structural factors among Mexican American IDUs may offer new insights into how to maintain low rates of HIV seroprevalence and reduce barriers to health care utilization.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA 94132, USA. alexisnm@sfsu.edu
authors.forename: Alexis N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Martinez
authors.forename: Ricky N
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Bluthenthal
authors.forename: Neil M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Flynn
authors.forename: Rachel L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.forename: Alex H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Kral
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002140:California / Q000453:epidemiology; D055030:Drug Users / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017058:Mexican Americans / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D016485:Needle Sharing; D018671:Needle-Exchange Programs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012309:Risk-Taking; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000208:ethnology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology