Lifetime suicidal ideation and attempt are common among HIV+ individuals

• Published in: Journal of affective disorders Vol. 136; no. 3; pp. 993 - 999
• Main Authors: Badiee, Jayraan, Moore, David J, Atkinson, J. Hampton, Vaida, Florin, Gerard, Mickey, Duarte, Nichole A, Franklin, Donald, Gouaux, Ben, McCutchan, J. Allen, Heaton, Robert K, McArthur, Justin, Morgello, Susan, Simpson, David, Collier, Ann, Marra, Christina M, Gelman, Benjamin, Clifford, David, Grant, Igor
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier B.V 01.02.2012; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Biological and medical sciences; Comorbidity; Cross-Sectional Studies; Depression; Depression - epidemiology; Depression - psychology; Female; HIV; HIV Seropositivity - epidemiology; HIV Seropositivity - psychology; Human viral diseases; Humans; Immunodeficiencies; Immunodeficiencies. Immunoglobulinopathies; Immunopathology; Infectious diseases; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Mood disorders; Prevalence; Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Risk Factors; Substance-Related Disorders - epidemiology; Substance-Related Disorders - psychology; Suicidal Ideation; Suicide; Suicide, Attempted - psychology; Suicide, Attempted - statistics & numerical data; Viral diseases; Viral diseases of the lymphoid tissue and the blood. Aids; HIV; Suicide; Depression; Mood disorder; Immunopathology; Retroviridae; AIDS; Immune deficiency; Lentivirus; Suicide attempt; Infection; Virus; Lifetime; Viral disease; Human immunodeficiency virus; Suicide ideation
• ISSN: 0165-0327; 1573-2517
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2011.06.044

Abstract Background Estimates of the prevalence of lifetime suicidal ideation and attempt, and risks for new-onset suicidality, among HIV-infected (HIV+) individuals are not widely available in the era of modern combined antiretroviral treatment (cART). Method Participants (n = 1560) were evaluated with a comprehensive battery of tests that included the depression and substance use modules of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) and the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) as part of a large prospective cohort study at six U.S. academic medical centers. Participants with possible lifetime depression (n = 981) were classified into five categories: 1) no thoughts of death or suicide (n = 352); 2) thoughts of death (n = 224); 3) thoughts of suicide (n = 99); 4) made a suicide plan (n = 102); and 5) attempted suicide (n = 204). Results Twenty-six percent (405/1560) of participants reported lifetime suicidal ideation and 13% (204/1560) reported lifetime suicide attempt. Participants who reported suicidal thoughts or plans, or attempted suicide, reported higher scores on the BDI-II (p < 0.0001), and higher rates of current major depressive disorder (p = 0.01), than those who did not. Attempters reported higher rates of lifetime substance abuse (p = 0.02) and current use of psychotropic medications (p = 0.01) than non-attempters. Limitations Study assessments focused on lifetime, rather than current, suicide. Data was not collected on the timing of ideation or attempt, frequency, or nature of suicide attempt. Conclusions High rates of lifetime suicidal ideation and attempt, and the relationship of past report with current depressed mood, suggest that mood disruption is still prevalent in HIV. Findings emphasize the importance of properly diagnosing and treating psychiatric comorbidities among HIV persons in the cART era.