Stress Rises Among Women With HIV

Although HIV-positive women are living longer because of triple-combination drug therapy, research suggests they are also suffering from more stress than their peers who lived prior to the combination therapy era. A study in the March edition of the Journal of Psychosocial Research has shown that women today are significantly more likely to report health-related stress and stress from stigma and disclosure issues, to report poor coping strategies, and to view HIV as having caused them harm. The report is based on studies of women from 1994 to 1996 and 2000 to 2003. 'Although highly active antiretroviral therapies may have extended survival for many HIV-infected individuals, they have not resulted in equivalent psychosocial improvements,' the researchers conclude. 'Efforts are needed to address the psychosocial difficulties that HIV-infected women in the HAART era continue to experience.'