Women with HIV: individual characteristics and cervical cancer prevention

Abstract

This research aimed to describe individual, gynecological and sexual characteristics in women with HIV/AIDS. Thirty-four women were assessed at a reference service for cancer control in Fortaleza, Ceara-Brazil in 2008, using interviews and cervi­cal secretion collection. Participants’ ages ranged from 17 to 54 years, 67.7% had aids, 55.8% belonged to low socioeconomic level, 44.1% were married, 94.1% informed up to three sexual partners in the previous year and 52.9% reported an annual cervical cancer examination. Among the women who mentioned an earlier sexually transmitted disease, 66.6% informed the Human Papillomavirus. In the prevention exam, 9.6% presented injuries that suggested cell alterations and 5.8% low-degree intra-epithelial lesion. It was concluded that the women who were infected by HIV/aids present strong risks that contribute to the early development of cervical cancer.