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To inform the Community Planning Group (Houston, Texas) in setting HIV-prevention priorities, risk behavior surveys were completed by 67 male-to-female (MtF) transgender persons. By self-identification, 58% were preoperative and 48% were self-described heterosexual women. We found this small sample of male-to-female transgender individuals to have high rates of HIV infection, and high prevalence of risky behaviors, intimate partner violence, and suicidal ideation. Twenty-seven percent were infected with HIV. Barriers were seldom used during oral sex and used less than half the time for anal sex with either primary or casual partners. Nearly one third of the sample reported use of methamphetamines, amyl nitrite or LSD and 40% reported crack or cocaine use. Intimate partner violence and forced sex were reported by 50% and 25%, respectively. Suicidal ideation was reported by 16% in the last 30 days; lifetime suicidal ideation was 60%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mexican Americans are the largest subgroup of Hispanics, the largest minority population in the United States. Stroke is the leading cause of disability and third leading cause of death. The authors compared stroke incidence among Mexican Americans and non-Hispanic Whites in a population-based study. Stroke cases were ascertained in Nueces County, Texas, utilizing concomitant active and passive surveillance. Cases were validated on the basis of source documentation by board-certified neurologists masked to subjects' ethnicity. From January 2000 to December 2002, 2,350 cerebrovascular events occurred. Of the completed strokes, 53% were in Mexican Americans. The crude cumulative incidence was 168/10,000 in Mexican Americans and 136/10,000 in non-Hispanic Whites. Mexican Americans had a higher cumulative incidence for ischemic stroke (ages 45-59 years: risk ratio = 2.04, 95% confidence interval: 1.55, 2.69; ages 60-74 years: risk ratio = 1.58, 95% confidence interval: 1.31, 1.91; ages >or=75 years: risk ratio = 1.12, 95% confidence interval: 0.94, 1.32). Intracerebral hemorrhage was more common in Mexican Americans (age-adjusted risk ratio = 1.63, 95% confidence interval: 1.24, 2.16). The subarachnoid hemorrhage age-adjusted risk ratio was 1.57 (95% confidence interval: 0.86, 2.89). Mexican Americans experience a substantially greater ischemic stroke and intracerebral hemorrhage incidence compared with non-Hispanic Whites. As the Mexican-American population grows and ages, measures to target this population for stroke prevention are critical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes the epidemiologic profiles of sexually transmitted infections seen in US women. We present a brief description of the infectious agent, describe the epidemiology of the infection among women in terms of race/ethnicity and age (if those data are available), and present what is known about the behavioral risk factors associated with acquisition.