title: Psychiatric morbidity among HIV-infected children and adolescents in a resource-poor Kenyan urban community.
abstract: The course of HIV/AIDS in children has been transformed from an acute to a chronic one with the advent of Anti-Retroviral Therapy. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and pattern of psychiatric morbidity in HIV-infected children and adolescents between 6 and 18 years of age and the relationship between their socio-demographic factors, immune suppression and psychiatric morbidity. The study was conducted at a paediatric HIV clinic in Nairobi, between February and April 2010. One hundred and sixty-two HIV-infected children and adolescents aged between 6 and 18 years and their guardians were interviewed. Seventy-nine (48.8%) of the study participants were found to have psychiatric morbidity. The most prevalent Diagnostic Statistical Manual, 4th Edition TR psychiatric disorders were: Major depression (17.8%), Social phobia (12.8%), Oppositional Defiant Disorder (12.1%) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (12.1%). Twenty-five per cent of the study participants had more than one psychiatric disorder. The prevalence of psychiatric morbidity in HIV-infected children is higher than that found in children in the general population. There is therefore a need to integrate psychiatric services into the routine care of HIV-infected children.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya. wanjiru_7@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Judy W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Kamau
authors.forename: Wangari
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Kuria
authors.forename: Muthoni
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mathai
authors.forename: Lukoye
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Atwoli
authors.forename: Rachael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kangethe
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D019958:Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D015897:Comorbidity; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology*; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D006679:HIV Seropositivity / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D007630:Kenya / Q000453:epidemiology; D007872:Legal Guardians; D008297:Male; D020380:Needs Assessment; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D011788:Quality of Life; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data