NIGERIA: Closer examination of AIDS dementia urged

Nigerian health care workers have been urged to pay greater attention to the mental condition of people living with HIV and AIDS, a local newspaper, The Daily Champion, reported.

The director of the Lagos Medical Rehabilitation Centre, Dr Anthony Okwuosah, said psychological disorders associated with HIV/AIDS were often treated as a once-off occurrence, rather than as a complex, interrelated issue.

According to Okwuosah, numerous psychiatric complications, particularly depression, stemmed from the direct effects of HIV infection on the central nervous system and psychological reactions to AIDS-related fear and stigmatisation.

Research suggests that 90 percent of HIV-positive people experienced psychological difficulties, which were often clinically underestimated.

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