Citation

Jin H, Atkinson JH, Duarte NA, Yu X, Shi C, Riggs PK, Li J, Gupta S, Wolfson T, Knight A, Franklin D, Letendre S, Wu Z, Grant I, Heaton RK. J. Acquir. Immune Defic. Syndr. (LWW) 2013; 62(3): 311-316.

Affiliation

HIV Neurobehavioral Research Program (HNRP), University of California San Diego, CA, USA; VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA, USA; The Institute of Mental Health at Peking University, Beijing, China; China Yunnan Institute of Drug Addiction, Kunming, China; China Centers for Disease Control (China CDC), Beijing, China; Computational and Applied Statistics Laboratory (CASL), University of California San Diego, CA, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

10.1097/QAI.0b013e31827ce513

PMID

23196829

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:: Suicide is an important public health problem in China. Elsewhere injection drug use and HIV infection have independently been associated with suicidality, but research has often overlooked these high-risk groups in China. We determined the frequency and predictors of suicidal ideas in Chinese, HIV-infected (HIV+) and uninfected (HIV-) heroin injection drug users in treatment (IDUs) and a control sample. We hypothesized that rates of suicidal ideas would be significantly higher among IDUs compared to controls, and highest among HIV+ IDUs. METHOD:: We assessed suicidal ideas within the past two weeks in HIV+ (N = 204) and HIV- (N = 202) heroin IDUs in methadone treatment in Yunnan, a province at the intersection of the heroin and HIV epidemics, and in demographically matched, uninfected non-drug using controls (N = 201). RESULTS:: Rates of suicidality were higher in IDUs than controls but there was no additive effect of HIV infection (HIV+ IDU 43.1%; HIV- IDU 37.1%; controls 8.5%). Among HIV+ IDUs suicidality was associated most strongly with a combination of prior history of major depression, low perceived social support, and experience of HIV-relevant stress, but not with AIDS diagnosis. Among HIV- IDUs suicidality was associated with prior history of major depressive or alcohol use disorder. Less than 25% of IDUs with suicidality had histories of mood or alcohol use diagnoses. CONCLUSION:: Because suicidal ideation is frequent in IDUs in China, regardless of HIV status, and is not fully accounted for by past psychiatric history, additional research may be warranted.

Language: en