Positive tRansItions through Menopause (PRIME)

Project Summary

The number of women accessing HIV care aged 45-56 (potentially menopausal age) has increased from around 400 in 2000, to over 7500 in 2013, nearly a third of all women accessing HIV care. The menopause can cause a range of symptoms, impacting on women's day-to-day lives. There is a lack of data on menopause in HIV-positive women. We are conducting the first large-scale study in the UK on HIV and menopause. We aim to explore the impact of the menopause on HIV-positive women's wellbeing and health.

Read the full report (PDF).

We will:

describe how common menopause and menopausal symptoms are in HIV-positive women
explore the relationship between menopause and menopausal symptoms, and the following: mental health, sexual problems, quality of life, use of HIV medication, HIV clinic attendance, and condom use
explore HIV-positive women's experiences of menopause and map current management of symptoms in this group.

This study of 1500 HIV-positive women recruited from 15 NHS sites throughout England will combine quantitative and qualitative approaches. We will administer questionnaires to participants and collect data from clinic databases. We will conduct in-depth interviews with a proportion of participants. We will seek permission to follow-up participants. This work will identify unmet clinical need and address important public health questions, informing the care of this growing population.