Re: Links between HIV and mental illness overlooked

[Guest guest]

Dear FORUM,

Subject: Re: Links between HIV and mental illness overlooked

/message/8883

Let me share you the following information from the body.com web page.

Among patients with HIV infection, clinical depression is the most frequently

observed psychiatric disorder, affecting between 4 percent and 14 percent of gay

men and non-drug-using women, with higher rates among both infected and

uninfected injection drug users.

But while these rates demonstrate a connection between HIV disease and

depression, it is not a direct one: despite the intuition that HIV disease might

bring on depression, the evidence suggests that there is rarely a

cause-and-effect relationship between the two.

The majority of HIV-infected people with current depressive disorders have a

history of depression that antedates HIV infection, and depression is not

correlated with disease stage, T-helper cell count, or HIV-related medication

use.

From: http://www.thebody.com/content/art4713.html#

DR RK SOOD

e-mail: drrksood@...