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High levels of depressive symptoms and poor mental health quality of life significantly reduced probability of use of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) among HIV-seropositive women. A prospective cohort study in which women reported use of HAART, health and mental health status, demographics and social and behavioral factors was carried out. CD4 count and viral load were assessed.

In 1996, the high efficacy of combination antiretroviral therapy in preventing the progression of HIV disease was first confirmed and widely publicized. Over the next two years, clinical guidelines for […]

Many studies across a variety of disciplines have identified differences in health status, health care access, and health care utilization by race/ethnicity. (1-5) During the past few years, however, there […]

This study was designed to explore why members of racial/ethnic minority groups, particularly African Americans, may not be using HIV/AIDS pharmaceuticals at the same rate as non-Latino whites, and what […]

Objectives. This study examined longitudinal trends in use of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) among a cohort of HIV-positive participants in the Women's Interagency HIV Study. Methods. Beginning in 1994,1690 HIV-positive women reported detailed information about their use of antiretroviral therapy at 6-month study visits. Multivariate logistic and Cox regression analyses were used to estimate the likelihood of antiretroviral therapy and HAART use among women with study visits preceding and following HAART availability. Results. Before the availability of HAART, the cohort's likelihood of any antiretroviral therapy use was associated with clinical indicators (CD4 count, viral load, symptom presence) as well as behavioral factors (abstaining from drug and alcohol use, participating in clinical trials).After HAART became commercially available, newly emerging predictors included college education, private insurance, absence of injection drug use history, and not being African American. Conclusions. After the penetration of HAART into this cohort, additional differences emerged between HAART users and nonusers. These findings can inform public health efforts to enhance women's access to the most effective types of therapy.

The authors did a telephone survey of 213 HIV-infected women to determine their access to and usage of primary health care. Of the total, 93% had a primary care provider, and 37% had missed at least one appointment due to lack of insurance, drug use, or having forgotten.

Many HIV-infected women do not react to a tuberculin skin test for tuberculosis just as many HIV-infected men do not. In a study of 1,343 HIV-infected women who were tested, 41% had no reaction to the test, a condition called anergy. Only 12% of 390 HIV-negative women did not react to the test.