TY - JOUR
T1 - The HIV epidemic among individuals with mental illness in the United States.
AU - Weiser, Sheri D.
AU - Wolfe, William R.
AU - Bangsberg, David R.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by NIMH grants MH54907-09, MH63011-04, MH64388-02, T32 MH-19105, and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. The Epidemiology and Prevention Interventions Center, Positive Health Program, and Center for AIDS Prevention Studies are programs of the University of California, San Francisco AIDS Research Institute.
PY - 2004/12
Y1 - 2004/12
N2 - People with depression and other mental illness comprise a growing proportion of individuals living with HIV in the United States; at the same time, the prevalence of HIV among mentally ill individuals is at least seven times higher than in the general population. Individuals with mental illness are particularly vulnerable to infection with HIV because of several factors, including the higher prevalence of poverty, homelessness, high-risk sexual activities, drug abuse, sexual abuse, and social marginalization found in this population. Nevertheless, mentally ill individuals are often not screened for HIV and may not be appropriately targeted in current HIV prevention efforts. Moreover, despite widespread access to antiretroviral treatment in the United States, HIV outcomes among mentally ill individuals continue to be poor. This disparity can be explained by several interrelated factors, including lower rates of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) utilization, lower rates of adherence to HAART, and immunologic changes associated with mental illness itself. We need to improve our design of prevention, screening, and treatment programs to better reach individuals with comorbid HIV and mental illness.
AB - People with depression and other mental illness comprise a growing proportion of individuals living with HIV in the United States; at the same time, the prevalence of HIV among mentally ill individuals is at least seven times higher than in the general population. Individuals with mental illness are particularly vulnerable to infection with HIV because of several factors, including the higher prevalence of poverty, homelessness, high-risk sexual activities, drug abuse, sexual abuse, and social marginalization found in this population. Nevertheless, mentally ill individuals are often not screened for HIV and may not be appropriately targeted in current HIV prevention efforts. Moreover, despite widespread access to antiretroviral treatment in the United States, HIV outcomes among mentally ill individuals continue to be poor. This disparity can be explained by several interrelated factors, including lower rates of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) utilization, lower rates of adherence to HAART, and immunologic changes associated with mental illness itself. We need to improve our design of prevention, screening, and treatment programs to better reach individuals with comorbid HIV and mental illness.
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U2 - 10.1007/s11904-004-0029-4
DO - 10.1007/s11904-004-0029-4
M3 - Review article
C2 - 16091241
AN - SCOPUS:24144445914
SN - 1548-3568
VL - 1
SP - 186
EP - 192
JO - Current HIV/AIDS reports
JF - Current HIV/AIDS reports
IS - 4
ER -