Onyebueke GC and Okwaraji Fe
Some chronic medical conditions have been found to be worsened by the presence of emotional and psychological disorders which often were not given considerations or even recognized when treatment for these medical conditions are been planned. With regards to HIV/AIDS, the World Health Organization (WHO) had observed that there is a close connection between mental health and HIV/AIDS. The most prevalent mental health problems found to be mostly associated with HIV/AIDS is depression and suicide ideations. This study examined the prevalence of depression and suicide risk among HIV positive persons attending the HIV/AIDS clinic of the University of Nigeria Teaching hospital Enugu south east Nigeria. The major depressive episode and the suicidality modules of the Mini neuropsychiatric interview (MINI) were used to screen 360 persons made up of 180 HIV positive persons and 180 HIV negative blood donors (controls) attending the HIV/AIDS and the hematology clinics of the University of Nigeria Teaching hospital Ituku Ozalla, Enugu south east Nigeria for the prevalence of depression and risk of suicide. The prevalence of depression and risk of suicide was 27.8% and 7.8% respectively for the HIV positive subjects, while it was 12.8% and 2.2% respectively for the HIV negative blood donors (controls). It was concluded that there was high prevalence of depression and suicide risk among HIV positive persons than among the controls.