The sample consisted of 135 recently incarcerated, nonpregnant women with sentences of 2 years or more. A subsample of 55 subjects was reinterviewed 6 months after incarceration. The study was conducted from September 1984 to August 1986. Data was collected from a variety of sources including prison medical and physical examination forms; subject's medical chart; laboratory reports; and a health history developed by the researcher to elicit indepth information on the subject's medical, surgical, obstetrical, gynecological, and substance abuse history. Almost 75 percent of the women reported menstrual difficulties sufficiently severe to warrant seeking medical care. Substance abuse was a major health problem, over 60 percent of the women reported alcohol abuse at the time of their arrest, and more than 44 percent reported a history of drug abuse. Subjects also indicated a history of frequent and severe headaches; back problems; and ear, nose, and throat problems. Subjects experiences considerable depressive symptoms upon entry to prison. After 6 months in prison, the subsample of 55 women continued to be troubled by the same physical symptoms they reported at admission. Health care services should facilitate inmates' adjustment to prison from the day of admission and decrease the stressful nature of the experience. 3 tables and 30 references