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From: liz@ai.mit.edu (Liz A. Highleyman)
Newsgroups: sci.med.aids
Subject: women and AIDS
Message-ID: <1991Jan31.215658.14657@cs.ucla.edu>
Date: 31 Jan 91 20:43:01 GMT
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A poster recently asked about info and sources relate to women and AIDS.

It is statistically true that women die sooner after receiving a 
diagnosis of AIDS than men do.  This is largely because they tend to
be sicker and further along in the course of the disease when they
are diagnosed (women with AIDS tend to be poor, and have less access
to health care, and doctors tend not to suspect AIDS in women as they
would in, say, gay men).

HIV+ women have very high rates of vaginal yeast infections, cervical
cell dysplasias, and pelvic inflammatory disease.  Many believe that
these are signs of AIDS in women, and would like to get the CDC to
amend it's AIDS definition to reflect this.  Recently, there has been
some progress in getting women into clinical trials, and in 
disseminating information about women and AIDS.  For example, ther
was a women and AIDS conference held by the NIH in December.

A relatively recent issue of AIDS Treatment News (late December I
think) had a good overview of women and AIDS, including the issues
mentioned above.  In addition, ACT UP (NY and Boston) have compiles
a great deal of information (in NY's case, as part of a suit against
the Soc. Sec. Admin. for denying women benefits because they do
not meet the official AIDS diagnosis criteria).  The J.A.M.A. had
an issue on women and AIDS (early fall I believe), that discussed
rates of prevalence, types of illness, and outcomes.

-Liz