Statistics
Resources
Reference these key facts as needed to support discussions throughout this lesson.
- According to the 2017 YRBS data, only 9% of high school students have been tested for HIV. Among male students who had sexual contact with other males, only 15% have ever been tested for HIV. Low rates of testing mean more young people have undiagnosed HIV. People who do not know they have HIV cannot take advantage of HIV care and treatment and may unknowingly pass HIV to others.
- Research has also shown that young gay and bisexual men who have sex with older partners are at a greater risk for HIV infection. This is because an older partner is more likely to have had more sexual partners or other risks, and is more likely to have HIV.
- In 2017, 87% (7,125) of youth who received an HIV diagnosis were young men and 13% (1,039) were young women.
- Youth with HIV are the least likely of any age group to be linked to care in a timely manner and have a suppressed viral load. Addressing HIV in youth requires that young people have access to information and tools they need to reduce their risk, make healthy decisions, and get treatment and care if they have HIV.
- In a 2017 Kaiser Family Foundation survey, 51% of young adults aged 18 to 30 said they would be uncomfortable having a roommate with HIV, and 58% said they would be uncomfortable having their food prepared by someone with HIV. More than half of young people incorrectly believe that HIV can be transmitted by spitting or kissing. Stigma and misperceptions about HIV negatively affect the health and well-being of young people, and may prevent them from testing, disclosing their HIV status, and seeking HIV care. (https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/group/age/youth/index.html)
- Women account for more than half the number of people living with HIV worldwide. Young women (10-24 years old) are twice as likely to acquire HIV as young men the same age.
- HIV disproportionately affects women and adolescent girls because of vulnerabilities created by unequal cultural, social, and economic status.
- Unaccommodating attitudes towards sex outside of marriage and the restricted social autonomy of women and young girls can reduce their ability to access sexual health and HIV services. (https://www.avert.org/professionals/hiv-social-issues/key-affected-populations/women)
- Antiretroviral therapy is medication that helps to keep the viral load in the body under control. For many people, HIV treatment can substantially lower viral load levels, sometimes to undetectable levels. A viral load is considered undetectable if a test can’t quantify the HIV particles in 1 milliliter of the blood. If a viral load is considered undetectable, it means the medication is working.
- According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a person with an undetectable viral load has “effectively no risk” of sexually transmitting HIV.