Over 50% of people with HIV, many from disenfranchised groups, in British Columbia, Canada, are living with a mental health disorder, investigators report in AIDS Care. Such disorders were associated with decreased functioning and life satisfaction and a higher burden of stigma and discrimination. However, HIV treatment outcomes were similarly good for people with and without mental health problems.
“Experiences of mental illness affected over half of a sample of individuals living with HIV suggesting that this issue should be priority for HIV related care among aging demographics of PHA [people with HIV and AIDS],” comment the authors. “This study found that mental illness was strongly associated with history of sexual assault, reduced functioning and health worries suggesting that PHA with mental disorders experience multiple vulnerabilities.”
Improvements in treatment and care mean that most people with HIV now have an excellent prognosis. However, many people living with HIV are also living with other health problems. It has been estimated that prevalence of mental health disorders is two to ten times more common among people with HIV than in the background population. Mental illness in those with HIV has been linked to poorer antiretroviral and clinical outcomes.
Investigators in British Columbia wished to identify the range of mental illnesses experienced by people living with HIV, and to determine the prevalence of these illnesses and their correlates.