Prevalence of HIV Infection in a General Psychiatric Outpatient Population

The prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in the general psychiatric population is unknown. The authors conducted a retrospective review of all patients evaluated through the psychiatric outpatient clinics at Duke University Medical Center from 2001 to 2004 in order to determine the prevalence of comorbid HIV infection and mental illness. HIV infection was present in 1.2% of the psychiatric outpatients, approximately four times the occurrence of HIV infection in the general adult population of the United States. The major psychiatric diagnostic categories with a high prevalence of HIV infection were substance abuse disorders (5%), personality disorders (3.1%), bipolar disorders (2.6%), and posttraumatic stress disorder (2.1%).