Older women are becoming infected at a higher

Older women are becoming infected at a higher rate than older men, and they may be particularly vulnerable to infection. No longer afraid of becoming pregnant, the post-menopausal woman who is uninformed of the dangers of HIV transmission may become more sexually active, with more partners, and may give up a decades-old habit of using condoms. Even her biology increases her risk: After menopause, the vaginal walls thin and vaginal lubrication decreases. Thus, the vaginal membranes are more likely to tear during intercourse, providing easier access for the virus.

The late middle-aged and elderly are seldom thought of as abusers of alcohol and other drugs, apparently on the theory that serious substance users don't live all that long. But the isolation that frequently accompanies old age, as families move away and friends and partners die, can lead to alcoholism and drug use that begins late in life. And the risks, especially those arising from impaired judgment, are just as real as they are for younger individuals.

Edwin Krales, Nutritionist/Outreach Coordinator at the Momentum AIDS Project and a member of the New York Association On HIV Over Fifty (NYAHOF), sees some improvement. The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), for example, has recently produced a videotape about older Americans infected and affected by HIV, and Kathleen M. Nokes of NYAHOF edited HIV/AIDS and the Older Adult, published in 1996 by Taylor and Francis. But Krales points out that those running programs for senior citizens themselves often buy into the myths about older people as asexual and with no drug use in their past. He stresses the importance of overcoming denial on the part of both people involved in AIDS prevention and those providing services to the elderly. "We have to get out to the senior centers and do this work," Krales advises.