Demography of HIV infections among civilian applicants for military service in four counties in New York City

During the period October 1, 1985, through July 31, 1986, serum specimens from 9,498 civilian applicants for military service from four New York City counties (New York, Kings, Queens, and Bronx) were tested for antibodies to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Ninety-seven (1.03%) specimens were positive as confirmed by Western blot. Antibody prevalence was strongly associated with age. Among recruit applicants who were less than 18, 18-21, 22-25, and greater than 25 years old, HIV seroprevalence rates were 0.23%, 0.31%, 1.30%, and 2.95%, respectively. Among applicants of different racial groups, the rates of seroprevalence were as follows: whites, 19/2,553, 0.74%; blacks, 56/4,869, 1.15%; and others including Hispanic, 22/2,076, 1.06%. Rates among male applicants (84/7,938, 1.06%) and female applicants (13/1,560, 0.83%) were not significantly different (p = 0.45).