Prevalence of HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C in people with severe mental illness: a systematic review and meta-analysis

What is it about?

we aimed to undertake a review of prevalence of blood borne virus (HIV, hepatitis B and C) in samples of people with long term mental health problems in treatment with mental health services. Previous reviews have indicated higher than expected rates of infection (when compared with general population estimates) but this was the first to undertake a systematic review

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Why is it important?

Physical health for people with serious mental illness is a cause for concern. There is evidence that people with serious mental illness die 15-20 years earlier than expected and much of this is accounted for by "preventable" disease such as cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. One area that is emerging is poor sexual health. This paper has demonstrated that rates of blood borne virus infection is high and therefore recommends that more is done to prevent BBV transmission, as well as identify people with these infections as soon as possible, as early treatment means likelihood of a better outcome.