Elevated Risk of Suicidal Ideation in HIV-Positive Persons.

L Schlebusch,R D Govender

doi:10.1155/2015/609172

Abstract

Globally, suicide and HIV/AIDS remain two of the greatest healthcare issues, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Several studies have observed a relationship between suicidal behaviour and HIV/AIDS. Materials and Methods. The main objective of this research was to determine the prevalence of elevated risk of suicidal ideation in HIV-positive persons immediately following voluntary HIV counselling and testing (VCT). The study sample consisted of adult volunteers attending the VCT clinic at a university-affiliated, general state hospital. Participants completed a sociodemographic questionnaire, Beck's Hopeless Scale, and Beck's Depression Inventory. Results. A significantly elevated risk of suicidal ideation was found in 83.1% of the patients who tested seropositive. Despite a wide age range in the cohort studied, the majority of patients with suicidal ideation were males in the younger age group (age < 30 years), consistent with the age-related spread of the disease and an increase in suicidal behaviour in younger people. Relevant associated variables are discussed. Conclusion. The results serve as important markers that could alert healthcare professionals to underlying suicide risks in HIV-positive patients. It is recommended that screening for elevated risk of suicidal ideation and prevention of suicidal behaviour should form a routine aspect of comprehensive patient care at VCT clinics.

Highlights

Suicidal behaviour and HIV/AIDS continue to present major public health challenges especially in low- and middleincome countries [1,2,3,4]
Despite the fact that a wide age range was represented in the cohort studied, the majority of seropositive patients with suicidal ideation fell within the younger age group, consistent with the age-related spread of the disease and the increase in suicidal behaviour in younger people [4, 13, 15, 40]
Despite the diverse findings about correlations between suicidal behaviour and HIV/AIDS, there is compelling evidence to justify screening for risk of elevated suicidal ideation and subsequent suicide risk and intervening as early as possible [36, 45, 46], especially following notification of a positive HIV test result immediately after HIV counselling and testing

Summary

Introduction

Suicidal behaviour and HIV/AIDS continue to present major public health challenges especially in low- and middleincome countries [1,2,3,4]. Some 60% of the province’s economic activity takes place in this port city where 88.6% of its inhabitants are black South Africans and 68% are of working age (16–65 years), but up to one-third or more are unemployed [13]. This geographical region bears one of the highest HIV-seropositive prevalence rates, and high comparative suicidal ideation rates in the general population as found in a community survey component of a large WHO international multisite study conducted in nine cities on five continents [1, 14].

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion