NEW YORK, Mar 07 (Reuters Health) - While women represented about 1 in 20 AIDS cases in the US in 1986, they now represent almost 1 in 5 cases of the disease, according to a report published in the March 7th issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association.

Dr. Shannon L. Hader and colleagues from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, report that women accounted for 6.7% of all AIDS cases in 1986, but this percentage grew to 18% by 1999. Of the new cases of AIDS reported in US women in 1998, 41% occurred in southern states, 61% of cases occurred in blacks, and 38% were from heterosexual transmission of HIV.

Hader's team based their findings on an analysis of studies and reports published between 1981 to 2000.

Many women did not identify or report a known risk factor for HIV infection. It is thought that half or more of these women were infected through heterosexual contact.

"In general, rates of HIV-associated illness are similar in women and men," the researchers report. However, women seem to be less likely than men to be taking antiretroviral drugs, possibly because HIV-infected women may have other problems, including drug use and depression.

Hader and colleagues believe that continued HIV research is needed. But, they add, "emphasis should also be placed on applying existing knowledge about HIV prevention and treatment in women by enhancing use of available health services and including greater use of antiretroviral therapy options, treating depression and drug use, facilitating educational efforts, and providing social support to reduce competing needs that prevent women from taking control of HIV prevention and treatment."

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