HIV leads to rise in suicide risk

A study has found that suicidal thoughts become increasingly prevalent among people in the six weeks following a positive HIV diagnosis.

Dr Romona Govender used feelings of hopelessness, and depression, as markers to determine the suicide risk in 200 HIV-positive patients.

She said yesterday that she had found that the percentage of the 200 patients that had suicidal thoughts increased from 17.1 three days after testing positive for HIV to 24.1 six weeks later.

As part of her PhD thesis on family medicine, the Durban doctor sought to determine the prevalence of suicidal thoughts in HIV-positive patients who had had voluntary HIV counselling and testing.

"The research addresses two major public health challenges in South Africa - HIV/Aids and suicidal behaviour. Relatively little is known about suicidal behaviour in South Africa, especially among HIV-positive people, and interventions designed for these patients are non-existent."

The study found that young men thought more about suicide than women after being told that they were HIV-positive.

She also developed a suicide risk-assessment scale for healthcare workers.

"Healthcare workers at counselling and testing clinics should be trained in suicide prevention and about the importance of educating HIV-positive patients on suicide-prevention strategies," she said.