Frequency of mental disturbances in HTLV-1 patients in the state of Bahia, Brazil

Viral infections and chronic diseases have been associated with psychiatric disorders. Among these, increased depression has been reported in HTLV-1 patients. However, no studies on the prevalence of other mental disturbances have been carried out in these patients. Salvador is the city with the highest rate of infection with HTLV-1 in Brazil and it is estimated that approximately 40,000 inhabitants are infected. In our cross sectional study, we examined the frequency of mental disturbances in 50 HTLV-1 seropositive patients followed at the Centro Integrativo e Multidisciplinar de HTLV e Hepatites Virais (CHTLV) of the Escola Bahiana de Medicina e Saude Pública (EBMSP) in Salvador from January to November 2007. We used a questionnaire to collect clinical-epidemiologic data and the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview Brazilian Version 5.0.0 (M.I.N.I.) to evaluate the psychiatric disorders. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for the analyses. Twenty-one (42%) HTLV-1 patients had a psychiatric co-morbidity; 17(34%) had mood disorders, 11 (22%) were anxious and one (2%) was an alcoholic. We found a high frequency of mental disturbances among HTLV-1 infected individuals, suggesting a possible association of this infection with psychiatric diseases.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Carvalho,André Gordilho Joaquim de, Galvão-Phileto,Ana Verena, Lima,Nana Santos, Jesus,Rogério Santos de, Galvão-Castro,Bernardo, Lima,Manuela Garcia
Format:	Digital revista
Language:	English
Published:	Brazilian Society of Infectious Diseases 2009
Online Access:	http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1413-86702009000100003
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