| November 28, 2006 |
Contact:
HRSA Press Office
301-443-3376 |
Despite Rising AIDS Cases, Only 37 Percent of U.S.
Women Test for HIV,
HRSA Data Book Says
A new HRSA data book indicates that despite a dramatic rise in the
number of AIDS cases among women, only 37.3 percent of all U.S. women
had ever been tested for HIV, according to 2004 data.
Testing rates among certain racial and ethnic groups and among younger
women, however, were far higher than average, which may reflect a recognition
of their risk of contracting HIV. Among women aged 25-34, almost two-thirds
had been tested. Testing is critical in getting HIV-positive individuals
into appropriate care.
Among female members of racial and ethnic groups, Women’s
Health USA 2006 notes that 52.4 percent of non-Hispanic black
women and 45.4 percent of Hispanic women in 2004 had ever been tested
for HIV, compared to just one third of non-Hispanic white (33.6 percent)
and Asian (33.3 percent) women, according to statistics compiled by
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
That same year, non-Hispanic black women had 7,586 diagnosed AIDS cases
(65 percent of the total), compared to 2,084 Hispanic women (18 percent
of total) and 1,972 non-Hispanic white women (17 percent), the new data
book reports. In the 2000 U.S. Census, non-Hispanic black and Hispanic
females were each about 13 percent of the U.S. female population, and
non-Hispanic white women were about 70 percent. These data highlight
the disproportionate impact that HIV/AIDS has on minority communities.
The reported AIDS cases among women in 2004 represent an increase of
more than 2,000 percent compared to 1988, when 524 cases of AIDS were
reported among women (as compared to 7,504 cases among men). The HRSA
data book points out that CDC’s 1993 expansion of the criteria
for AIDS diagnosis to include diseases such as invasive cervical cancer
is partially responsible for the increase among women. Still, as compared
to 1988, the face of HIV/AIDS has increasingly become one of a woman
who has contracted the disease through heterosexual transmission.
In 2004, almost 35 percent of U.S. adults had ever been tested for
HIV. Women were more likely to have been tested for HIV than men overall
(37.3 percent versus 31.7 percent), but men were more likely to get
tested if they were age 45 and older.
Other key findings include:
- Among non-Hispanic black women, diabetes occurred at a rate of 103.6
per 1,000 women in 2004, compared to 61.1 per 1,000 non-Hispanic white
women.
- Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is also more prevalent among
non-Hispanic black women than women of other races. In 2004, the disease
occurred at a rate of 341.1 per 1,000 non-Hispanic black women, compared
to 260 per 1,000 non-Hispanic white women and 197.5 per 1,000 Hispanic
women.
- In 2004, 51.7 percent of women were overweight or obese, based on
their Body Mass Index, a measure of the ratio of height to weight
used to determine whether a person's weight is within a healthy range.
- In 2004, women reported an average of 187 minutes of moderate activity
per week; 51.7 percent of women reported engaging in at least 10 minutes
of moderate activity per week. Current recommendations include at
least 30 minutes of “moderate-intensity” physical activity
on most days of the week.
The fifth edition of this data book gives policy makers, program managers
and members of the public an easy-to-use collection of data on the health
challenges facing women, their families and communities. Recent data
are drawn primarily from federal sources and also cover topics such
as life expectancy, postpartum depression and smoking during pregnancy.
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