AIDS in women: epidemiology.

Several facts concerning the distribution of AIDS in U.S. female populations are clear. This disease has made significant inroads, in a quantitative sense, into the female segment of our society as documented by AIDS surveillance data, information on pregnant women and parturients, and by screening data from the military. The impact on women in the reproductive years, on the reproductive health of these women, and on the reproductive outcome of their pregnancies is of substantial concern. Monitoring epidemiologic trends in certain groups will require clever and creative strategies like those of Hoff and colleagues. Additional data may be derived from the CDC's Family of Surveys that will examine HIV prevalence in five groups (in addition to the newborn infant survey described above): intravenous drug users, patients admitted to hospitals, sexually transmitted disease clinic patients, women's health and reproductive health clinics, and tuberculosis clinics. It is hoped that the data obtained from these studies, as well as data gathered on college students and Job Corps applicants, will contribute additional information on HIV infection in women. Monitoring the progress of the AIDS epidemic in women will be difficult. Even more difficult will be the effort to respond to the epidemic in the women it most frequently affects: the poor, minority, disenfranchised women who may be involved in illegal activities (drug use, prostitution, illegal immigration) who are not well networked into the medical and social services of our society.