The purpose of this study was to identify the prevalence of psychiatric symptoms and substance abuse in HIV-infected gay/bisexual men and to estimate the proportion of those who had been diagnosed within their primary medical care setting.
Participants (n = 503) were HIV-infected gay/bisexual men screened for participation in a HIV prevention trial and completed psychosocial assessment. Data were also extracted from patients壮 electronic medical record.
More than 47% of participants met diagnostic screen-in criteria for any anxiety disorder, of whom approximately one-third were identified in primary care. More than 22% screened in for a depressive mood disorder, approximately 50% of whom had been identified in primary care. A quarter of the sample had elevated substance abuse symptoms, 19.4% of whom were identified in primary care. Of those with symptoms of alcohol abuse (19.9%), 9.0% of those were identified in primary care.
These results provide some evidence suggesting that mood, anxiety, and substance abuse symptomatology are prevalent among HIV-infected gay/bisexual men and are underidentified in primary care. Increased mental health and substance use screening integrated into HIV primary care treatment settings may help to identify more gay/bisexual men in need of treatment.