Almost a Quarter of Trans Individuals Worldwide Have HIV/AIDS, Study Shows

Approximately a quarter of transgender individuals worldwide have HIV/AIDS, according to the results of a recent global analysis of HIV/AIDS prevalence in transgender people, published recently in Health Science Reports.

“Trans people are 49 times more likely to be infected with HIV than adults in the general population worldwide,” lead author corresponding author Yousef Moradi, Ph.D., from the Research Institute for Health Development at the Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences in Iran, writes in the study. “Identifying the prevalence of HIV among trans people is essential to develop prevention strategies among this population and prohibiting the increasing prevalence of HIV.”

Moradi and his team conducted a systemic review and metanalysis, combing through databases such as PubMed to identify previous studies that included transgender participants. They initially identified 3,125 articles and 31 papers from sources such as UNAIDS and the WHO. After three rounds of eligibility screening, 37 studies were included in the final analysis.

The studies in the analysis had enrolled 21,000 transgender and LGBTQ individuals living in 22 countries. Although the exact number of transgender people in the world is unknown, some estimates put it at 25 million, with between 1 million and 1.4 million residing in the United States, the study says.

At least 7,000 transgender individuals tested positive for HIV/AIDS, the data shows.

Social stigma seems to play a role in infection rate due to the social climate within each region, according to Moradi and his colleagues. For example, 35% of male to female (MTF) transgender individuals in Africa tested positive for HIV/AIDS, while only 26% of female to male (FTM) transgender people in the United States tested positive for HIV/AIDS.

The research also shows that there is a higher prevalence of HIV/AIDS in those who have transitioned from MTF when compared with those who have transitioned from FTM. For example, 30% of transgender MTF individuals in Asia are positive for HIV/AIDS, while 23% of transgender FTM individuals in Asia are positive, the study data shows.

The authors believe that this may be because in many countries, the male gender is more accepted than the female gender, which means FTM transgender people may have more support from family and face less societal discrimination; therefore, people who transition from MTF may be more susceptible to the sex trade, drug and alcohol abuse and sex work, without that support.

To combat future infections within this community, the authors emphasize the importance of increased access to affordable HIV prevention and treatment services and verifying transgender people’s identities.

“Implementing these interventions can greatly lower the risk of HIV/AIDS in transgender communities, resulting in better overall health and well-being for this disenfranchised community,” writes Moradi and colleagues.