Psychiatric morbidity in recently diagnosed HIV patients in South Africa. A preliminary report.

There is growing awareness of the importance of assessing psychiatric morbidity in individuals with HIV/AIDS. First psychological distress in HIV/AIDS patients may be associated with decreased adherence to medication regimes. Second psychopathology in HIV/AIDS may be associated with accelerated disease progression. Third there is a growing database showing that currently available treatments are effective for treating psychiatric disorders in patients with HIV/AIDS. Much of the work on psychiatric morbidity in HIV/AIDS has however been done in the West. In South Africa HIV/AIDS patients may be at greater risk for psychopathology than patients in certain parts of the developed world given their additional and potentially stressful living conditions including high rates of unemployment and poverty; poor and unstable housing; inadequate social services; and high rates of crime and domestic violence. This article documents preliminary findings of psychiatric morbidity in a prospective evaluation of psychiatric disorders associated with HIV infection in newly diagnosed patients. (excerpt)