Gender-Specific Health Challenges Facing Women
Of the approximately 33 million people worldwide infected with HIV, nearly half are women. In certain areas, though, women compose more than half of HIV cases, such as in sub-Saharan Africa. Over the past two years, the number of women and girls infected with HIV has increased in every region of the world, with rates rising particularly rapidly in Eastern Europe, Asia, and Latin America. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that women accounted for more than 26 percent of all new AIDS cases reported in the United States in 2005, an increase from 11 percent in 1990.
Biologically, women are more vulnerable than men to HIV infection from heterosexual intercourse because of their substantial mucosal exposure to seminal fluids. Women’s risk is increased by other factors, such as non-consensual sex, sex without condoms, and the unknown or high-risk behaviors of their partners—all of which, in many parts of the world, are out of a woman’s control.
Once infected with HIV, women can face obstacles in seeking and getting treatment. Frequently, they have difficulty accessing health care. They often lack social support and face other challenges that may impede their ability to stick to treatment, such as caring for children or other family members stricken with HIV/AIDS. If they do follow through with treatment, studies have shown that women differ from men in the way they metabolize drugs, which could result in unexpected responses to antiretroviral therapy and an increase in adverse reactions to the drugs.
Women also suffer gender-specific consequences of HIV, including recurrent vaginal yeast infections, pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), genital ulcer disease, severe herpes infections, abnormalities related to infection with human papillomavirus (HPV), and vulvar and vaginal carcinomas.
Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs)
STIs, such as HPV, trichomoniasis, genital herpes, and chlamydia, disproportionately affect women and infants globally and can increase the risk of HIV infection. The CDC reported in 2006 that about 19 million new STIs occur in the United States each year at a cost of nearly $15 billion, with a particular burden of diseases on women.
In addition to being at higher risk than men of transmitting some STIs, women face particular health challenges as a result of contracting an STI. Women face infertility, cancer, and chronic conditions like PID, especially when STIs go untreated. They also risk passing on the infection during pregnancy or breastfeeding.
Autoimmune Diseases
Autoimmune diseases affect approximately 8 percent of the U.S. population, but nearly 80 percent of those affected are women.
- Multiple sclerosis (MS), which causes varying degrees of neurological impairment, affects about 250,000 to 350,000 people in the United States and almost twice as many women as men. Although the cause of MS is unknown, research increasingly suggests that genetics may play a role in determining a person's susceptibility. Some symptoms of MS are treatable, but there is no cure for the disease.
- Lupus is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease that can affect the joints, skin, kidneys, blood cells, heart, and lungs. It affects approximately 239,000 people and occurs more frequently in women—particularly African-American women—than in men.
- Scleroderma leads to the overproduction of collagen in the skin, tissues beneath the skin, blood vessels, and major organs. Excess collagen forms thick connective tissue that can interfere with the function of affected organs. Approximately 40,000 to 165,000 people in the United States have scleroderma, more often women than men.
Learn how NIAID works to prevent, diagnose, and treat infectious and autoimmune diseases that disproportionately affect women.
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