Overview
WIHS is the largest and longest ongoing cohort study of women with HIV in the United States. Women account for approximately 27% of the new HIV cases. More than 80% are in African American and Hispanic women. WIHS includes women with and at high risk for HIV who reflect these demographics. WIHS began in 1994 at six clinical consortium sites.
MACS is a 30-year study of HIV in homosexual and bisexual men. MACS has four clinical research sites and a data coordinating center.
As of January 1, 2019, the MACS and WIHS cohorts have combined to form the MACS/WIHS-CCS and aligned their data. Both address similar science questions.
The NICHD Maternal and Pediatric Infectious Disease Branch will participate in this new endeavor led by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. The purpose of the MACS/WIHS-CCS is to advance knowledge of HIV, with a focus on HIV-related comorbidities, by supporting the current clinical research sites (CRS) of the MACS and the WIHS.
The new MACS/WIHS-CCS, with nearly 5,000 active participants, both with and without HIV, plus a new recruitment wave of up to 2,500 new participants (including one third between the ages of 18 and 40) will study high-priority research on HIV outcomes. This work will include the prevalence, pathology, etiology, mechanisms, treatment, and prevention of morbidity and mortality related to HIV, its treatment, and the intersection of HIV and aging and the contextual factors common in the lives of those with HIV.
This ongoing follow-up of the MACS/WIHS-CCS will enhance the rich clinical and behavioral data on participants gathered over decades. Each CRS will implement the unified science agenda and provide expertise to lead part of the science agenda. The Data Management and Analysis Center contributes to the study design, ensures appropriate adverse event monitoring and reporting, manages data, conducts statistical analyses, and helps with dissemination of results. It also will study basic science, clinical science, and epidemiology of HIV in the United States, and on comorbidities.
Topic Areas
Areas of focused scientific research in the MACS/WIHS-CCS include but are not limited to:
- Aging and geriatrics
- Basic science
- Behavioral science
- Brain and central nervous system
- Cardiovascular health
- Epidemiological and statistical methods
- Genetics
- Head, face, and neck
- Heart, lung, blood, and sleep
- Hematology
- Immunology
- Implementation
- Malignancies
- Men’s health
- Microbiomes
- Natural history of infection
- -omics
- Oral and dental health
- Sleep disturbances and apnea
- Social and environmental factors
- Substance use and mental health
- Treatment response and outcomes
- Virology
- Women’s reproductive health
More Information
- MACS/WIHS-CCS Website
- NICHD Contact: Denise Russo
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