Grant: Operating Grant - HIV/AIDS CBR Program - General

In Canada, a woman's life expectancy is 4 years longer than a man's. However, for women living with HIV, not only is life expectancy 5-10 years shorter than for women without HIV of same age, but it is also 7 years less than that of men living with HIV. The reason for this remains unknown. This may relate to alterations in hormones normally protective of women's health and/or to social and structural factors that impact a woman's access to care. Women living with HIV more often have a history of amenorrhea/menstrual disturbance, and reach menopause earlier than women without HIV. Menopause and amenorrhea are associated with decreased sex steroid levels and accelerated progression of age-associated diseases. Thus low sex steroid states occurring earlier in the lives of women living with HIV may result in earlier and increased comorbidity risk. We herein leverage the expertise, experience, and infrastructure of the CIHR-funded BC CARMA-CHIWOS Collaboration (BCC3)- integrating established research cohorts of women living with HIV in British Columbia - CARMA (Children and Women:AntiRetroviral therapy and Markers of Aging Cohort) and CHIWOS (Canadian HIV Women's Sexual and Reproductive Health Cohort) to examine the relationship between the reproductive health of women with that of comorbidities in this population.