CDC H IV/A IDS Fact Sheet

HIV/AIDS among

Women 1-800-CDC-INFO (232-4636)

In English, en Español

24 Hours/Day

cdcinfo@cdc.gov

http://www.cdc.gov/hiv 

April 2006

Early in the epidemic, HIV infection and AIDS 

were diagnosed for relatively few women and 

female adolescents (in this fact sheet, referred to as 

women). Today, women account for more than one 

quarter of all new HIV/AIDS diagnoses. Women 

of color are especially affected by HIV infection 

and AIDS. In 2002 (the most recent year for which 

data are available), HIV infection was

the leading cause of death for African American 

women aged 25–34 years

the 3rd leading cause of death for African 

American women aged 35–44 years

the 4th leading cause of death for African 

American women aged 45–54 years and for 

Hispanic women aged 35–44.

In the same year, HIV infection was the 5th leading cause of death among all women aged 35–44 

years and the 6th leading cause of death among all 

women aged 25–34 years. The only diseases causing more deaths of women were cancer and heart 

disease [1].

STATISTICS

HIV/AIDS in 2004

Data from 35 areas* with confidential namebased HIV reporting indicate that an estimated 

10,410 women were given a diagnosis of HIV/

AIDS [2].

Heterosexual contact was the source of 78% of 

these new infections [2].

Women accounted for 27% of the estimated 

38,730 diagnoses of HIV/AIDS [2].

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Of the 123,405 women living with HIV/AIDS, 

64% were African American, 19% were white, 

15% were Hispanic, less than 1% were Asians 

and Pacific Islanders, and less than 1% were 

American Indians and Alaska Natives [2].

Of the HIV/AIDS diagnoses for women during 

2001–2004, an estimated 15% were for women 

aged 13–24 years [3].

According to a recent CDC study of more 

than 19,500 patients with HIV in 10 US cities, 

women were less likely than men to receive 

prescriptions for the most effective treatments 

for HIV infection [4].

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Sex of adults and adolescents with 

HIV/AIDS diagnosed during 2004

Note. Based on data from 35 areas with long-term, 

confidential name-based HIV reporting.

*See box before the References section for a list of the 35 

areas.


H IV/A IDS among Women

AIDS in 2004

Of 42,514 AIDS diagnoses, 11,442 (27%) were 

for women [2].

The rate of AIDS diagnoses for African 

American women (48.2/100,000 women) was 

approximately 23 times the rate for white women 

(2.1/100,000) and 4 times the rate for Hispanic 

women (11.1/100,000) [2].

An estimated 93,566 women were living with 

AIDS, representing 23% of the estimated 

415,193 people living with AIDS [2].

An estimated 4,138 women AIDS died, 

representing 26% of the 15,798 persons with 

AIDS who died [2].

From the beginning of the epidemic through 

2004, women accounted for 178,463 diagnoses,

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a number that represents almost one fifth of the

944,306 AIDS diagnoses during this period [2].

From the beginning of the epidemic through 

2004, an estimated 84,897 women with AIDS 

died. These women accounted for 16% of the 

529,113 persons with AIDS who died [2].

Women with AIDS made up an increasing part 

of the epidemic. In 1992, women accounted 

for an estimated 14% of adults and adolescents 

living with AIDS [5]. By the end of 2004, this 

proportion had grown to 23% [2].

African American and Hispanic women together 

represented about 25% of all US women [6], yet 

they accounted for 81% of the estimated total of 

AIDS diagnoses for women in 2004 [2].

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Transmission categories and race/ethnicity of women with HIV/AIDS diagnosed during 

2001–2004

Note. Based on data from 33 states with long-term, confidential name-based HIV reporting.

Source. CDC. Trends in HIV/AIDS diagnoses—33 states, 2001–2004. MMWR 2005;54:1149–1153.
H IV/A IDS among Women

RISK Factors AND BARRIERS 

TO PREVENTION

Young Age

According to a 1998 CDC study of Job Corps 

entrants aged 16–21 years, HIV prevalence among 

young women (2.8/1,000) was higher than among 

young men (2.0/1,000). African American women 

in the study were 7 times as likely as white women 

and 8 times as likely as Hispanic women to be 

HIV-positive [7]. Although another study found 

that HIV diagnoses among women decreased 

slightly from 1984 through 1998, it also found 

that as the youngest group (aged 15–19) initiated 

risk behaviors, the number of HIV cases caused 

by injection drug use increased, and the number 

acquired through heterosexual contact more than 

doubled [8]. These data point to possible future 

increases in HIV cases among women.

Recognition of Partner’s Risk

Some women may be unaware of their male 

partners’ risk for HIV infection (such as 

unprotected sex with multiple partners, sex with 

men, or injection drug use) [9]. Men who engage 

in sex both with men and women can acquire HIV 

from a male partner and then transmit the virus to 

female partners. In a recent study of HIV-infected 

people (5,156 men and 3,139 women), 34% of 

African American men who have sex with men 

(MSM), 26% of Hispanic MSM, and 13% of 

white MSM reported having had sex with women. 

However, their female partners may not know 

of their male partners’ bisexual activity: only 

14% of white women, 6% of African American 

women, and 6% of Hispanic women in this study 

acknowledged having a bisexual partner [10]. In a 

recent CDC survey, 65% of the men who had ever 

had sex with men also had sex with women [11]. 

Women who have sex only with women and who 

have no other risk factors, such as injection drug 

use, are at very low risk for HIV infection (CDC, 

unpublished data 2006).

Sexual Inequality in Relationships 

with Men

Some women may not insist on condom use 

because they fear that their partners will physically 

abuse them or leave them [12]. Such sexual 

inequality is a major issue in relationships between 

young women and older men. In a CDC study of 

urban high schools, more than one third of African 

American and Hispanic women had their first 

sexual encounter with a male who was older (3 or 

more years) [13]. These young women, compared 

with peers whose partners had been roughly 

their own age, had been younger at first sexual 

intercourse, less likely to have used a condom 

during first and most recently reported intercourse, 

or less likely to have used condoms consistently.

Biologic Vulnerability and Sexually 

Transmitted Diseases

A woman is approximately twice as likely 

as a man to contract HIV infection during 

vaginal intercourse [14]. Additionally, the 

presence of some sexually transmitted diseases 

greatly increases the likelihood of acquiring or 

Note. Based on data from 33 states with long-term, 

confidential name-based HIV reporting.

Source. CDC. Trends in HIV/AIDS diagnoses—33 states, 

2001–2004. MMWR 2005;54:1149–1153.

Race/ethnicity of women with HIV/AIDS 

diagnosed during 2001–2004
H IV/A IDS among Women

transmitting HIV infection [15]. The rates of 

gonorrhea and syphilis are higher among women 

of color than among white women. These higher 

rates are especially marked at younger ages (15–24 

years) [16].

Substance Use 

An estimated 1 in 5 new HIV diagnoses for 

women is related to injection drug use [2]. Sharing 

injection equipment contaminated with HIV 

is not the only risk associated with substance 

use. Women who use crack cocaine or other 

noninjection drugs may also be at high risk for the 

sexual transmission of HIV if they sell or trade 

sex for drugs [17]. Also, both casual and chronic 

substance users are more likely to engage in highrisk behaviors, such as unprotected sex, when they 

are under the influence of drugs or alcohol [18].

Socioeconomic Issues

Nearly 1 in 4 African Americans and 1 in 5 

Hispanics live in poverty [19]. Socioeconomic 

problems associated with poverty, including 

limited access to high-quality health care and 

higher levels of substance use, can directly or 

indirectly increase HIV risks [20]. 

Prevention

The annual number of new HIV infections among 

all people in the United States declined from a 

peak of more than 150,000 cases in the mid-1980s 

and has stabilized at approximately 40,000 cases 

annually since the late 1990s. Populations of 

minority races/ethnicities are disproportionately 

affected by the HIV epidemic. To reduce further 

the incidence of HIV, CDC announced a new 

initiative, Advancing HIV Prevention (http://www.

cdc.gov/hiv/topics/prev_prog/AHP), in 2003. 

This initiative comprises 4 strategies: making 

HIV testing a routine part of medical care, 

implementing new models for diagnosing HIV 

infections outside medical settings, preventing new 

infections by working with HIV-infected persons 

and their partners, and further decreasing perinatal 

HIV transmission.

In the United States, women, particularly women 

of color, are at risk for HIV infection. CDC, 

through the Department of Health and Human 

Services Minority AIDS Initiative (http://www.cdc.

gov/programs/hiv08.htm) explores ways to reduce 

disparities in communities made up of persons 

of minority races/ethnicities who are at high risk 

for HIV. CDC is also conducting demonstration 

projects on using women’s social networks to 

reach high-risk persons in communities of color 

and is doing outreach and testing for partners of 

HIV-infected men.

CDC funds prevention programs in state and 

local health departments and community-based 

organizations. The following are examples.

In Illinois, Access Community Health Network, 

which is the largest network of community 

health centers in the nation, receives funding 

to implement counseling, testing, and referral 

(CTR) in Chicago communities with the 

highest rates of HIV diagnoses and funding to 

implement SISTA (Sisters Informing Sisters 

about Topics on AIDS), a social skills training 

intervention program aimed at reducing HIV 

sexual risk behavior among high-risk African 

American women.

In Massachusetts, CAB Health & Recovery 

Services, Inc., receives funding for HIV riskreduction counseling and prevention case 

management and for Women RISE (Risk 

Identification, Strategies, and Empowerment), an 

HIV prevention services program that engages 

women and their partners who are at very high 

risk for HIV infection, who are homeless and 

living in family shelters, or who are identified 

through street outreach.

In Louisiana, Great Expectations Foundation, 

Inc., provides prevention intervention services 

through SISTA to high-risk African American 

women.

In California, the Orange County Bar Foundation 

adapts SISTA for Latinas aged 18–24 years.

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H IV/A IDS among Women

In Florida, the Center for Multicultural Wellness 

& Prevention, Inc., addresses, through SISTA 

and CTR, the health issues that affect African 

American and Haitian women.

In New York, the Community Healthcare 

Network provides prevention intervention 

services through counseling, comprehensive risk 

counseling and referral, and RAPP (Real AIDS 

Prevention Project) interventions to African 

American and Hispanic women.

CDC also funds research on interventions to 

reduce HIV-related risk behaviors or their 

outcomes. For example, the Women and Infants 

Demonstration Projects were focused on lowincome, inner-city sexually active women to 

measure injection drug use, sexual behaviors, 

and HIV testing behaviors, as well as sexually 

transmitted diseases and pregnancy. The 

demonstration projects increased condom use and 

resulted in the RAPP intervention package, which 

is available, along with training and technical 

assistance, from CDC.

To prevent mother-to-child transmission, CDC 

has distributed $10 million annually since 1999 

to 16 states with high HIV/AIDS rates to carry 

out prevention programs for pregnant women, to 

10 states for enhanced surveillance for infected 

mothers and babies, and to 5 national organizations 

to develop and distribute training and educational 

materials for women and prenatal care providers.

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Understanding HIV and AIDS Data

AIDS surveillance: Through a uniform system, CDC 

receives reports of AIDS cases from all US states and 

territories. Since the beginning of the epidemic, these 

data have been used to monitor trends because they 

are representative of all areas. The data are statistically 

adjusted for reporting delays and for the redistribution 

of cases initially reported without risk factors. As treatment has become more available, trends in new AIDS 

diagnoses no longer accurately represent trends in new 

HIV infections; these data now represent persons who 

are tested late in the course of HIV infection, who have 

limited access to care, or in whom treatment has failed.

HIV surveillance: Monitoring trends in the HIV 

epidemic today requires collecting information on HIV 

cases that have not progressed to AIDS. Areas with confidential name-based HIV infection reporting requirements use the same uniform system for data collection 

on HIV cases as for AIDS cases. A total of 35 areas—

the US Virgin Islands, Guam, and 33 states (Alabama, 

Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, 

Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New 

Jersey, New York, New Mexico, North Carolina, North 

Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, 

Wisconsin, and Wyoming)—have collected these data 

for at least 5 years, providing sufficient data to monitor HIV trends and to estimate risk behaviors for HIV 

infection. Recently, 9 additional areas have begun confidential name-based HIV surveillance, and data from 

these areas will be included in coming years.

HIV/AIDS: This term includes persons with a diagnosis of HIV infection (not AIDS), a diagnosis of HIV 

infection and a later diagnosis of AIDS, or concurrent 

diagnoses of HIV infection and AIDS.

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CDC. Trends in HIV/AIDS diagnoses—33 states, 

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McNaghten AD, Hanson DL, Aponte Z, Sullivan PS, 

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H IV/A IDS among Women

For more information . . . 

CDC HIV/AIDS

http://www.cdc.gov/hiv

CDC HIV/AIDS resources

CDC-INFO

1-800-232-4636

Information about personal risk and where to 

get an HIV test

CDC National HIV Testing Resources

http://www.hivtest.org

Location of HIV testing sites

CDC National Prevention Information 

Network (NPIN)

1-800-458-5231

http://www.cdcnpin.org

CDC resources, technical assistance, and 

publications

AIDSinfo

1-800-448-0440

http://www.aidsinfo.nih.gov

Resources on HIV/AIDS treatment and 

clinical trials

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Hayman CR. HIV infection in disadvantaged out-ofschool youth: prevalence for U.S. Job Corps entrants, 

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1998;19:67–73.

Lee LM, Fleming PL. Trends in human 

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Hader SL, Smith DK, Moore JS, Holmberg SD. HIV 

infection in women in the United States: status at the 

millennium. JAMA 2001;285:1186–1192. 

Montgomery JP, Mokotoff ED, Gentry AC, Blair JM. 

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men and implications for transmission to their female 

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Valleroy LA, MacKellar DA, Behel SK, Secura GM, 

Young Men’s Survey. The bridge for HIV transmission 

to women from 23- to 29-year-old men who have sex 

with men in 6 U.S. cities. National HIV Prevention 

Conference; July 2003; Atlanta, Georgia. Abstract 

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org/AbstractBookFinal.pdf. Accessed March 16, 2006.

Suarez-Al-Adam M, Raffaelli M, O’Leary A. Influence 

of abuse and partner hypermasculinity on the sexual

behavior of Latinas. AIDS Education and Prevention

2000;12: 263–274.

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older male partners and subsequent HIV risk 

behavior among female adolescents. Family Planning 

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