Suicide Risk (SR) and the COVID-19 pandemic affected People with HIV (PWH) disproportionately in comparison with the general population, but little information on SR during and after the COVID-19 lockdown on the Latino PWH has been described, therefore, this study aimed to describe SR in PWH attended the HIV clinic before (2018-2019), during (2020), and after (2021-2022) the COVID-19 lockdown, the trend of SR, and the factors associated. Three standardized questions from the "Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale" (C-SSRS) were routinely applied as screening for suicide risk to all PWH attending their clinical visits during 2018-2022. We estimated suicidality risk and rate. We compared sociodemographic characteristics in those with and without SR. We evaluated the potential association of SR with the calendar year before, during, and after the COVID-19 lockdown using a mixed-effects logistic regression. A total of 2330 patients were seen during the study period; 2157 (93%) were evaluated for suicidality at least once, of those, 75 (3.5%) had SR. Those with SR compared with non-SR were more frequently women (20% vs 10%) and with a heterosexual HIV transmission route (29% vs 23%). SR rates per 1000 patients-day among those evaluated were 0.03 in 2018, 0.25 in 2019, 3.16 in 2020, 7.0 in 2021 and 11.98 in 2022. Throughout the model, independently of covariables, a significant increase in the OR of SR was observed in these years compared to 2018: 1.07 in 2019; 2.74 in 2021; and 4.82 in 2022, except in 2020, OR = 0.18.
El Riesgo Suicida (RS) y el COVID-19 afectaron de manera desproporcionada a las Personas con VIH (PWH) en comparación con la población general, pero se ha descrito poco sobre el RS durante y después del confinamiento por COVID-19 en PWH latinas, por lo tanto, nuestro objetivo fue describir el RS en las PWH y asistieron a una clínica de VIH antes (2018–2019), durante (2020) y después (2021–2022) del confinamiento, la tendencia del RS y los factores asociados. Se aplicaron tres preguntas estandarizadas de la “Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale” (C-SSRS) como tamizaje rutinario de RS a las PWH que acudieron a sus visitas clínicas durante 2018–2022. Estimamos el RS, las tasas y comparamos las características sociodemográficas en aquellos con y sin RS. Evaluamos la asociación potencial de RS con el año-calendario antes, durante y después del confinamiento utilizando una regresión logística de efectos mixtos. Fueron atendidas 2330 PWH durante el período de estudio; 2157 (93%) fueron evaluados para detectar RS al menos una vez, de estos, 75 (3.5%) tenían RS, quienes fueron con mayor frecuencia mujeres (20% vs. 10%) y con una vía de transmisión heterosexual (29% vs. 23%). Las tasas de RS por 1000 pacientes-día entre los evaluados fueron de 0.03 en 2018, 0.25 en 2019, 3.16 en 2020, 7.0 en 2021 y 11.98 en 2022. En el modelo, independientemente de las covariables, se observó un aumento significativo de OR de RS en comparación con 2018: 1.07 en 2019; 2.74 en 2021 y 4.82 en 2022, excepto en 2020 (OR = 0.18).
Keywords: COVID-19; Latin America and the Caribbean; Lockdown; Pandemic; People with HIV; Suicide risk.
© 2024. The Author(s).