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Incidence of violence against HIV-infected and uninfected women: Findings from the HIV epidemiology research (HER) study

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Abstract

The effect of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection on the incidence of violence against women was addressed in a prospective cohort of HIV-infected and uninfected women. Participants were enrolled between 1993 and 1995 in four US cities and followed up semiannually through 1998. Among 1,087 women with a total accrual of 2,988 person-years (PY) of follow-up, there were 185 reports of abuse (incidence rate=6.19 per 100 PY). The rate of abuse among HIV-infected women with a CD4+count less than 350 cells/μL was lower than that among HIV-infected women with more CD4+ cells/μL or among uninfected women (4.87, 6.92, and 6.44 per 100 PY, respectively). In multivariate analysis, being separated or divorced, having a history of abuse in adulthood, using marijuana, using crack, and having multiple sex partners were each significantly associated with an elevated abuse rate; being older was inversely associated with abuse. Among HIV-infected women, those with fewer CD4+ cells/μL continued to show a decreased abuse rate (bazard ratio=0.55, 95% CI=0.36, 0.82) after adjustment for these factors. It is important to complement existing and future HIV prevention and intervention strategies with efforts to reduce violence against women.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 North Wolfe St., 21205, Baltimore, Maryland

    Leslie Gruskin,  Stephen J. Gange,  David Celentano &  David Vlahov PhD

  2. Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, Michigan

    Paula Schuman

  3. Division of HIV/AIDS, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia

    Janet S. Moore

  4. Department of Community Health, Brown University School of Medicine, Providence, Rhode Island

    Sally Zierler

  5. Center for Urban Epidemiologic Studies, the New York Academy of Medicine, New York, New York

    David Vlahov PhD

Authors
  1. Leslie Gruskin
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  2. Stephen J. Gange
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  3. David Celentano
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  4. Paula Schuman
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  5. Janet S. Moore
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  6. Sally Zierler
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  7. David Vlahov PhD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to David Vlahov PhD.

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Gruskin, L., Gange, S.J., Celentano, D. et al. Incidence of violence against HIV-infected and uninfected women: Findings from the HIV epidemiology research (HER) study. J Urban Health 79, 512–524 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1093/jurban/79.4.512

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jurban/79.4.512

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