HIV in females: A clinico-epidemiological study

Abstract

Background:Human Immunodeficiency Virusinfected women account for almost half the number of cases of HIV worldwide. Despite reduction in HIV prevalence among the population, the percentage of Indian women contracting the disease seems to have increased. The social implications are also different in females.Materials and Methods:This prospective observational study was conducted from September 2009 to July 2011 at tertiary care hospitals attached to the Kasturba Medical College Mangalore, on a group of 200 HIV-positive patients. Patients above 18 years of age diagnosed with HIV as per National AIDS Control Organisation guidelines were included in the study. Clinical profile among women and men was compared with respect to clinical presentation, disease detection, CD4 count and response of family and society.Results:Clinical presentation was similar among both men and women. Eighty-one percent men had promiscual sexual exposure, 19% of women had so. Males were identified to be HIV-positive earlier than their spouse (tested later), time lag being 27.6 weeks. After detection of positivity 77% of females felt being less cared for by the in-laws. CD4 count less than 50 was detected in more number of females as compared to men (11% females and 1% males). Death of spouse was seen more often in females (among 35% of women and 11% of men).Conclusion:Most of the females were likely to acquire infection from their spouse. Females tend to seek and get medical attention at the late stage of disease as compared to men. HIV in females has different social implications which includes discrimination within the family.

‘I am doing fine only because I have not told anyone’: the necessity of concealment in the lives of people living with HIV in India

“…The effects of such cultural constructions of women and sexuality have also been seen in the way women who engage in sex work have been regarded as a source of HIV infection by policy makers, especially in the initial days of the epidemic (Patton 1994 ). While it has been shown that most women in India have contracted HIV from their spouse, this has in no way diminished judgments regarding their sexual morality, with high levels of discrimination being reported, including by family members (Malave et al 2014 ; Padyana et al 2013 ).…”

Understanding Comorbidities and Their Contribution to Predictors of Medical Resource Utilization for an Age- and Sex-Matched Patient Population Living With HIV: Cross-Sectional Study

“…In a study that comprises HIV-infected males and females with similar demographics and clinical characteristics, more females acknowledged asking clinicians about the symptoms of aging-related comorbidities and were provided such information without request. The study also revealed that 80% of females desired symptom-related information compared with 22% of males [36,38]. To date, little attention is given to interventions targeting HIV aging phenotypes and sex-based differences, with HIV-infected populations generally being ignored in intervention research [36-38].…”

Socio demographic profile of clients visiting the ICTC at a teaching hospital in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh

“…Payana et al found in their study that, among male patients who did not know the HIV status of spouse the majority had not revealed their HIV status to the wife or had never asked the wife to get tested for HIV. 10…”