HIV Preexposure Prophylaxis, by Race and Ethnicity — United States, 2014–2016

Preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) with a daily, oral pill containing antiretroviral drugs is highly effective in preventing acquisition of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection (1-4). The combination of tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) and emtricitabine (FTC) is the only medication approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for PrEP. PrEP is indicated for men and women with sexual or injection drug use behaviors that increase their risk for acquiring HIV (5). CDC analyzed 2014-2016 data from the IQVIA Real World Data - Longitudinal Prescriptions (IQVIA database) to estimate the number of persons prescribed PrEP (users) in the United States and to describe their demographic characteristics, including sex and race/ethnicity. From 2014 to 2016, the annual number of PrEP users aged ≥16 years increased by 470%, from 13,748 to 78,360. In 2016, among 32,853 (41.9%) PrEP users for whom race/ethnicity data were available, 68.7% were white, 11.2% were African American or black (black), 13.1% were Hispanic, and 4.5% were Asian. Approximately 7% of the estimated 1.1 million persons who had indications for PrEP were prescribed PrEP in 2016, including 2.1% of women with PrEP indications (6). Although black men and women accounted for approximately 40% of persons with PrEP indications (6), this study found that nearly six times as many white men and women were prescribed PrEP as were black men and women. The findings of this study highlight gaps in effective PrEP implementation efforts in the United States.