Psychiatric morbidity among HIV-infected children and adolescents in a resource-poor Kenyan urban community

AIDS Care. 2012;24(7):836-42. doi: 10.1080/09540121.2011.644234. Epub 2012 Jan 31.

Abstract

The course of HIV/AIDS in children has been transformed from an acute to a chronic one with the advent of Anti-Retroviral Therapy. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and pattern of psychiatric morbidity in HIV-infected children and adolescents between 6 and 18 years of age and the relationship between their socio-demographic factors, immune suppression and psychiatric morbidity. The study was conducted at a paediatric HIV clinic in Nairobi, between February and April 2010. One hundred and sixty-two HIV-infected children and adolescents aged between 6 and 18 years and their guardians were interviewed. Seventy-nine (48.8%) of the study participants were found to have psychiatric morbidity. The most prevalent Diagnostic Statistical Manual, 4th Edition TR psychiatric disorders were: Major depression (17.8%), Social phobia (12.8%), Oppositional Defiant Disorder (12.1%) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (12.1%). Twenty-five per cent of the study participants had more than one psychiatric disorder. The prevalence of psychiatric morbidity in HIV-infected children is higher than that found in children in the general population. There is therefore a need to integrate psychiatric services into the routine care of HIV-infected children.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / epidemiology*
  • Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders / epidemiology*
  • Child
  • Comorbidity
  • Depression / epidemiology*
  • Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
  • Female
  • HIV Seropositivity / epidemiology*
  • HIV Seropositivity / psychology
  • Humans
  • Kenya / epidemiology
  • Legal Guardians
  • Male
  • Needs Assessment
  • Phobic Disorders / epidemiology*
  • Prevalence
  • Quality of Life
  • Socioeconomic Factors
  • Stress, Psychological / epidemiology*
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Urban Population / statistics & numerical data