50% of Americans Suspect That HIV Is a Conspiracy

At a time when many are a proclaiming that we, as a society, are overcoming the stigma and social barriers related to HIV, a new study from the University of Chicago suggests that we may still have some way to go.
According to the research published in the March 17th issue of Journal of the American Medical Association Internal Medicine, 49% of 1,351 Americans surveyed suspect that HIV was an intentional act of conspiracy linked to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The study, which looked at medical conspiracy theories relating to HIV and other diseases, was part of an online survey conducted from August to September 2013.
The selection of participants was weighed to best represent the U.S. population by age, ethnic group, income and gender, while the results were correlated to determine how and if any of the beliefs affected a person's health behavior.
Among the findings:

• 49% either strongly believe or question whether the CIA deliberately infected a large number of African Americans under the guise of hepatitis vaccinations.

• 60% either strongly believe or question whether the government is fully aware that cell phones cause cancer, but is doing nothing about it.

• 56% either strongly believe or question whether the government and medical community are hiding the fact that childhood vaccines cause autism and other psychological disorders.

• 58% either strongly believe or question whether the global distribution of genetically modified foods is part of an international conspiracy to shrink the world population.

• 68% either strongly believe or question whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is intentionally blocking natural cures for HIV, cancer and other diseases due to pressure from drug companies.

• 53% either strongly believe or question whether the fluoridation of water is simply a way to dump by-products of phosphate mines into the environment.

While many would proclaim these conspiracies outright laughable, the sheer number of disbelievers and doubters is, at least to us, simply astonishing -- particularly when we see how these beliefs impact people's individual health judgment.
For example, the study showed that people who support conspiracy theories are seven times more likely to use herbal remedies than members of the general population. Similarly, only one-in-three conpiracists get annual physical exams compared to nearly half of American adults. They were also less likely to use sunscreen and habitually avoid annual flu inoculations (something considered vital in immunosuppressed people with HIV).
While the report didn't correlate HIV conspiracy beliefs to HIV testing or treatment, other studies have suggested that these kinds of beliefs may be part of the reason why 20% of HIV-infected American are still untested and only 25% of those diagnosed are able to achieve undetectable viral loads, considered the measure of treatment success.


By Dennis Sifris, MD and James Myhre