How Serious Is HIV for Women?

How Serious Is HIV for Women?

Only 7% of AIDS cases reported in 1985 in the U.S. were women and girls. That percentage grew to 27% in 2007. About 80% of women are infected through sex with an HIV-infected man (often an injection drug user), and many through injection drug use (see Fact Sheet 154 on drug use and HIV). In the U.S., AIDS rates among women are highest in the Southeast and the Northeast. In 2005, about 64% of infected women in the U.S. are Black, although only 13% of the U.S. population is Black. Please see Fact Sheet 611 for more information on pregnancy and HIV.

What Do Women Need to Know?

• Women are at risk for HIV infection. Many women think AIDS is a disease of gay men. But women get HIV from heterosexual sex and from sharing needles. Many women with HIV do not know how they got infected. This suggests that one or more of their male partners are infected.
• During sex, HIV is transmitted from men to women about twice as easily as from women to men. A woman's risk of infection is highest with anal intercourse, or if she has a vaginal infection. The risk of infection is higher if her male sex partner is or was an injection drug user, has other sex partners, has had sex with infected people, or has sex with men.
• Women should protect themselves against HIV infection. Having male sex partners use condoms lowers the chance of HIV infection. See Fact Sheet 153 for more information on using condoms. Condoms also come in a female version. To be effective, male and female condoms have to be used consistently and correctly. Other forms of birth control, such as birth control pills, diaphragms, or implants do NOT provide protection against HIV. There is not yet an available cream or gel (microbicide, see Fact Sheet 157) that women can use to prevent HIV infection.
• Women should get tested for HIV. Many women don't find out they have HIV until they become ill or get tested during pregnancy. Women who aren't tested for HIV may get sick and die faster than men. But if they get tested and treated, they live as long as men. Fact Sheet 102 has more information on HIV testing.
• Gynecological problems can be early signs of HIV infection. Ulcers in the vagina, persistent yeast infections, and severe pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) can be signs of HIV. Hormone changes, birth control pills, or antibiotics can also cause these problems. See your health care provider to make sure you know the cause.
• Women get more and different side effects than men. On average, women weigh less than men and might have higher blood levels of drugs. Women are more likely than men to get skin rashes and liver problems, and to experience body shape changes (lipodystrophy, see Fact Sheet 553). Bone loss is also a concern (see Fact Sheet 557). They also have more problems caused by human papillomavirus (HPV, see Fact Sheet 510). HPV does not seem to improve when people take antiretroviral therapy (ART).
• Many women are parents in addition to dealing with their health and employment. This can make it more difficult to take medications and schedule medical appointments. With proper support, however, women do very well on HIV treatment.