Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About HIV in Women
HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus. It harms your immune system by destroying a type of white blood cell that helps your body fight infection. This puts you at risk for other infections and diseases.
HIV can spread in different ways:
- By having unprotected vaginal or anal sex with a person who has HIV. "Unprotected" means not using condoms or medicine to treat or prevent HIV. This is the most common way it spreads. Anal sex is the riskiest type of sex for getting or spreading HIV. The rectum's lining is thin and may allow HIV to enter the body during anal sex.
- During vaginal sex, HIV can enter the body through the delicate tissue that lines the vagina and cervix.
About one in four people in the United States who have HIV are women. Women who have HIV have some different problems than men:
- Complications such as Repeated vaginal yeast infections
- Bacterial vaginosis
- Severe pelvic inflammatory disease (PID)
- A higher risk of cervical cancer
- Menstrual cycle problems
- A higher risk of osteoporosis
- A higher risk of heart disease, especially heart attacks
- Entering menopause younger or having more severe hot flashes
There is no cure, but there are many medicines to treat both HIV infection and the infections and cancers that come with it. People who get early treatment can live longer and healthier lives.
It sits within Women and Immune System.
The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.
Research on HIV in Women
863 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.
What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.
Research currently under way
- A Study to Investigate the Virologic Efficacy and Safety of VH3810109 + Cabotegravir Compared to Standard of Care (SOC) in Male and Female Adults Living With Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)ViiV Healthcare
- Vaginal Estradiol vs Moisturizer to Improve Postmenopausal Vaginal Aging Symptoms and the Microbiome in Women Living With HIVAlbert Einstein College of Medicine
- Identifying and Addressing Barriers to Retention in the Cervical Cancer Treatment Cascade Among Women With HIV in South Africa: Part 2Boston University Charles River Campus
- Pharmacy-based Provision of Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) for Adolescent Girls and Young Women in TanzaniaMzumbe University - Centre of Excellence in Health Monitoring and Evaluation
- Pharmacokinetic Study of Long-acting Antiretrovirals and Contraceptives in HIVUniversity of Alabama at Birmingham
- A Study of MK-8527 to Prevent Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 (HIV-1) (MK-8527-010)Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC
Research already completed
- Herpesviruses Reactivation In Hiv-Infected Women Initiating ART (HERA)National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
- PrEP (Pre-exposure Prophylaxis) Stigma and Women Ethnodrama Pre-Test PhaseDuke University
- PrEP (Pre-exposure Prophylaxis) Stigma and Women Ethnodrama Pilot PhaseDuke University
- Antiretroviral Adherence Evaluation in HIV Pregnant and Postpartum WomenCenter for Primary Care and Public Health (Unisante), University of Lausanne, Switzerland
- Study of a Group B Streptococcus Vaccine in Pregnant Women Living With HIV and in Pregnant Women Who do Not Have HIVMinervax ApS
- Group Antenatal Care: Effectiveness and Contextual Factors Linked to Implementation Success in MalawiUniversity of Illinois at Chicago
Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Start Here
- Women and HIVDepartment of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health
- Women and HIV: Get the Facts on HIV Testing, Prevention, and TreatmentFood and Drug Administration
Diagnosis and Tests
- HIV TestingDepartment of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health
Prevention and Risk Factors
- HIV and WomenNational Institutes of Health, Office of AIDS Research
- HIV PreventionDepartment of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: HIV in WomenNational Institutes of Health
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under HIV Infections. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for HIV in Women, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.