Neuropsychiatric Manifestations in HIV Positive Individuals

AIDS has been known to have a wide variety of systemic manifestations but the associated psychiatric problems go undetected by the treating physicians. Out of the 100 patients assessed, 36% patients had neurological manifestations, with 47 neurological events. Meningitis was most common (19 patients) followed by mass lesions in 6. Psychiatric symptoms were seen in 78%. Depression was most common (45 patients) , followed by anxiety in 25 and adjustment disorder in 6. These AIDS related mental disturbances could be attributed to the psychological reactions to systemic illnesses, effects of psychosocial stressors associated with the disease or opportunistic infections of the central nervous system.