Assessment of depression, anxiety, hopelessness and suicidal risk in HIV+ inpatients

Abstract

Introduction. People living with HIV frequently experience anxiety, depression, hopelessness and suicide risk, particularly if they are hospitalized due to HIV complications. Objective. The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of anxiety, depression, hopelessness and suicide risk in HIV+ inpatients at admission and discharge. Method. A comparative study was conducted with the HIV+ inpatient population of the National Institute for Respiratory Diseases in Mexico City, from February to November 2013. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the Beck Hopelessness Scale and the Plutchik Suicide Risk Scale were applied at hospital admission and discharge. Results. One hundred and fifteen patients completed all three assessments. Upon admission, 10.4% of the patients scored above the cut-off point for suicide risk; 1.7% presented high levels of hopelessness; 5.2% had clinical depression, and 7% had clinical anxiety. The comparison of scores at admission and discharge showed significant decreases in all symptom levels. Discussion and conclusion. Most of the patients presented low levels of all symptoms assessed at admission and these decreased at discharge. Further research is necessary with the hospitalized HIV population.