Prolonged amenorrhea and resumption of menses in women with HIV

Abstract Objective: To compare etiologies of prolonged amenorrhea in a cohort of HIV-infected women with a cohort of similar uninfected at-risk women. Materials and Methods: Women from the Women's Interagency HIV Study were seen every 6 months, and completed surveys including questions about their menstruation. Those who reported no vaginal bleeding for at least 1 year (“prolonged amenorrhea”) with subsequent resumption of bleeding were compared with women in whom bleeding had stopped permanently (“menopause”). Characteristics associated with reversible prolonged amenorrhea were ascertained. Results: Of 828 women with prolonged amenorrhea, 37.6% had reversible amenorrhea and 62.4% never resumed menses. HIV-seropositive women with prolonged amenorrhea were significantly younger at cessation of menses than HIV-negative women (p < 0.0001). Of those with reversible prolonged amenorrhea, approximately half were taking medications associated with amenorrhea, including 95 (30.6%) hormonal contraception, 80 (25.7...