Mental Health Disorders in HIV-Infected Children in Umuahia, Nigeria: A Comparative Analysis of the Prevalence and Patterns

Background: Despite advances in the care and support of children infected by HIV, there is still a predisposition of these children to mental health disorders (MHDs). These affect their thoughts, emotions, behaviours and relationship with others. There is a high prevalence of MHD in children, but there are gaps in knowledge concerning the burden of MHD in HIV-infected children. Our study seeks to address these gaps by determining the prevalence and patterns of MHD among HIV-infected children. Subjects and Methods: A cross-sectional comparative study of 386 participants categorised into 193 HIV-infected children and 193 HIV-negative controls. The HIV-infected children were aged 2–15 years and attending the Paediatric HIV Clinic of FMC, Umuahia, while the HIV-negative controls were drawn from primary or secondary schools in Umuahia. They were age- and sex-matched with the HIV-infected children. The sociodemographic characteristics and MHD in both groups were determined using a structured pro forma and the strengths and difficulties questionnaire, respectively. Results: The prevalence of MHD in HIV-infected children was 31.6%. This was significantly higher than that of the HIV-negative controls (7.8%, P < 0.001). The pattern of MHD revealed that emotional and peer-relationship disorders were significantly higher in the HIV-infected children than the HIV-negative children and these HIV-infected children were three times and five times more likely to have emotional and peer-relationship disorders, respectively, than the HIV-negative controls (Emotional: adjusted odds ratio [aOR] =2.57, CI = 1.13–5.88, P = 0.025; Peer-relationship: aOR = 4.48, CI = 2.13–1103, P < 0.001). Conclusions: The prevalence of MHD in HIV-infected children is high with emotional and peer-relationship disorders as the most common patterns.