SUICIDE AND HIV-INFECTION - A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Results of studies on the prevalence of suicide in HN-infected subject s raise the issue of methodologic biases. The rate of suicide found in HIV-infected people during the first years of the pandemy, may have b een overestimated, because of the absence of seronegative control popu lation matched for at-risk behaviors of contracting the virus. Same au thors tried to identify risk factors of suicide in HIV positive subjec ts. These factors are quite similar to those found in general psychiat ry. Especially, a prior history of psychiatric disorders may be a stro nger predictor of suicide. than seropositivity itself. During the cour se of HIV infection, people have to cope with many stressors, from the notification of the serological test result to the diagnostic of AIDS . Some researchers tried to find an association between some stages of the illness and an increased rate of suicide. In other studies, autho rs adressed the issue of suicidal ideation in HIV positive persons. Ps ychological responses to serological testing were assessed, as was the association between the prevalence of suicidal thoughts and some stag es of the disease.