OBJECITVE: To describe the incidence and mortality by AIDS in Brazil involving women in the menopause transition and post-menopause stage. METHODS: Retrospective study conducted from 1996 to 2005, using secondary data provided by the DATASUS Health Information System - Ministry of Health. The population was extracted from the "Demographic and Socio-economic" database, incidence from "Epidemiology and Morbidity" and mortality from "Vital Statistics". Specific coefficients for incidence and mortality by AIDS (for 100,000 women) were calculated for each age ranging from 30 to 69 (30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69) as this includes the population of interest; i.e. women in menopause transition and post-menopause, that is to say from 35 to 65 years of age. RESULTS: There was an increase in the incidence of AIDS between 1996 and 1998, followed by a slight downward trend until 2000 and then an increment up to 2004. In 2005, the coefficient returns to values close to those of 1997. Mortality fell in all age ranges from 1996 to 1997 and afterwards coefficients remained virtually stable until 1999, except for ages from 30-39, which continue stable until 2005. For women older than 40, the mortality coefficient increased between 1999 and 2005. CONCLUSION: There was an increase in the number of new cases of AIDS in women over 30 and the same was true for mortality. The increase and "aging" of epidemics among Brazilian women show that health supporting measures, disease prevention and early diagnoses as well as effective care must be provided for women in the 30-69 age group considering personal characteristics, family context and social role played by women of this age.
AIDS; Incidence; Mortality; Women
