Prevalence of psychiatric morbidity in hiv positive patients in a tertiary hospital in nigeria

Background: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a chronic multi-systemic disorder with associated psychiatric co-morbidity of significant public health importance. Aim: The study focused on investigating the prevalence of psychiatric morbidity living with HIV and AIDS in a tertiary hospital in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Methods: Using a systematic sampling method, 353 subjects were recruited into two groups; HIV positive subjects from the RVD clinic and HIV negative subjects from the GOPD clinic. They were assessed using a self-designed questionnaire to elicit socio-demographic and clinical variables. The subjects were screened for psychological distress with a 12 item General Health Questionnaire and diagnoses made using Present State Examination (PSE) manual (version 10). Data was analysed using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS, version 15). Results: Among the 241 subjects who completed the study, 89 were HIV positive while 152 were HIV negative. A higher proportion of the HIV positive subjects were females (57.3%). The prevalence of psychiatric morbidity in adults living with HIV/AIDS in this study was 23.6%. There was a significant difference in the prevalence of psychiatric morbidity in the HIV positive patients when compared with controls. Conclusion: One of the results of this study was that one in five HIV/AIDS patients had a depressive disorder. This suggests that the most prevalent mental health problem in HIV and AIDS patients are mood disorders, hence the need to step up measures in preventing and managing them for a more wholesome effective management.