Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that the most seriously ill – those with schizophrenia and bipolar disease – had the highest rate of HIV testing.
“Our finding that persons with mental illness were tested for HIV at a higher rate than those without mental illness is encouraging and consistent with previous analyses,” Baligh R. Yehia, lead author of the study and an assistant professor of Medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, said in a statement. “However, the large number of people with mental illness who still have not been tested necessitates increased public health prevention efforts, particularly in light of the increased HIV risk in this population.”
This is insulting. I spent my entire middle and high school years advocating abstinence. I have had one sexual partner and most certainly do not have HIV. These things are not related.
I don’t think it is relevant. These are two completely different things and HIV can only be contagious as far as I know, I mean it can’t be developed independent from external factors.
What is there supposed to be about people w/mental illnesses that makes us more likely to have HIV? I have to say I don’t have all the facts, but I feel insulted by these statements.
Most likely to be TESTED for, or Tested POSITIVE for HIV?
Pretty obvious the Dr’s must think that just because we have a mental illness, that we are unable to have good judgement about being sexually discrete.
I think it’s completely understandable. Schizophrenics tend to take poor care of themselves, have poor hygiene, and have a greater chance of a substance abuse problem. If you can’t be bothered to take a shower regularly then how can one expect you to practice safe sex or hygienic drug use?
Sometimes people get offended by the slightest things.
The offense is because it just adds more stigma. People suffering severe mental illness don’t need more stigma and having a correlation between those two things does not help anyone at all.
You are offended because connecting schizophrenia with HIV would stigmatize the schizophrenics but what about those with HIV? Haven’t they been stigmatized enough? You’re dishing out a heaping helping of stigma on them with your comments.
I guess we’ve finally found a section of society deemed lower than schizophrenics.
I don’t see why, the main ways HIV is spread is by having sex or sharing injection drug equipment such as needles with someone who has HIV. Only certain fluids—blood, semen (cum), pre-seminal fluid (pre-cum), rectal fluids, vaginal fluids, and breast milk—from an HIV-infected person can transmit HIV. I’m not exactly sure of any drugs for mental illness that require injection drugs. But I’m not expert. I know blood transfusions can also lead to HIV but that is only if there was a mistake on the hospitals part I think.
However when I go in for my blood tests I know I’m tested for various things including diabetes not only because it runs in family but is a side affect of seroquel. Also other things are test so if your doctor knows that a patient is sexually active they may have the patient tested simply to make sure they are being safe. Since I’m not sexually active I’ve never been tested for AID’s myself.
HIV is a socially transmitted condition. Schizophrenics are to a great extent non social. I would take the shower if not taking one was the cause of a deadly disease or would possibly transmit it (somehow) to someone else.
Maybe the rise in incidence is in younger schizophrenics who aren’t as familiar with AIDS which was in the news everywhere for years. Things seem to be getting freer.
I wonder what the breakdown between schizophrenics + bipolar people is.
Fifteen per cent of the 21,785 adults stated they have a psychiatric disorder. The team of researchers discovered that mentally ill people are more likely to test positive for HIV as the findings revealed that among the studied profiles, 48.5 per cent people of those with at least one mental disorder had tested positive for HIV, compared to the 35 per cent testing rate among people without mental disorders.
Out of those 15 per cent, 89 per cent showed symptoms of anxiety or/and depression, 2.6 per cent had schizophrenia spectrum disorder and 8.5 per cent had bipolar disorder. The study showed that 47 per cent of individuals who were suffering from anxiety or/and depression, 63 per cent from bipolar disorder, and 64 per cent from schizophrenia have been tested for HIV.
I personally think it is a good thing to know as getting help to people early is important and the effects of untreated HIV can only have a negative effect on a person’s severe mental illness and physical well being.
