Prevalence of HIV Viral Load Suppression Among Psychiatric Inpatients with Comorbid Substance Use Disorders.

Prevalence of HIV Viral Load Suppression Among Psychiatric Inpatients with Comorbid Substance Use Disorders. Community Ment Health J. 2018 May 11;: Authors: Coviello DM, Lovato R, Apostol K, Eisenberg MM, Metzger DS, Szucs-Reed R, Kiryankova-Dalseth N, Kelly D, Jackson A, Plano M, Blank MB Abstract A consistently suppressed viral load enables HIV (+) patients to live longer, healthier lives and reduces the probability of transmitting the virus. Since the prevalence of HIV is four times higher among those with psychiatric disorders than in the general population, it is likely that this group would also have greater difficulty remaining in care and achieving viral suppression. A secondary data analysis utilizing screening data from the Preventing AIDS Through Health (PATH) for Triples (PFT) Study were examined to assess HIV load suppression among 254 psychiatric inpatients with comorbid substance use disorders in Philadelphia. Viral load results from the past 12 months were obtained from medical records for 63 inpatients identified as HIV (+). The sample was predominately African American (76%), male (56%), and the average age was 43 years. Psychiatric disorders included depression (64%), schizophrenia (21%), and bipolar disorder (13%) with patients reporting use of alcohol (73%), cocaine (64%), cannabis (29%) and opioids (16%) prior to admission. Among this high risk sample of HIV (+) patients, about one-half (52%) achieved viral su...
Source: Community Mental Health Journal - Category: Psychiatry Authors: Tags: Community Ment Health J Source Type: research