Author Interviews, HIV, Mental Health Research, University of Pennsylvania / 11.04.2014
Mental Illness Raises Risk of HIV Infection
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Michael B. Blank, PhD
Associate Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry
Perelman School of Medicine
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA 19104-3309
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Blank: We found that people in treatment for mental illnesses in inpatient and outpatient settings in Philadelphia and Baltimore were about times as likely to be infected with HIV as the general population in those cities and about 16 times as likely to be HIV infected as the general population of the US. We also found that severity of psychiatric symptoms increased the likelihood of infection.
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