Background

With the availability of antiretroviral therapy (ART), the morbidity and mortality of people living with Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) have been decreasing, and the number of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWH) has been increasing in China [1]. According to China’s AIDS Response Progress Report, reported cases of PLWH continued to increase from 307,000 in 2010 to 501,000 in 2014 [1]. Although the life expectancy among PLWH has increased due to ART, many other challenges to health persist, including challenges such as opportunistic infections, syphilis, tuberculosis, and prevalent HIV-related stigma [1, 2].

Stigma was traditionally defined as “a significantly discrediting trait” and further expanded as “a powerful discrediting and tainting social label that radically changes the way individuals view themselves and are viewed as persons” [3, 4]. People who have been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS may be stigmatized, because the routes of HIV infection are usually controllable and HIV-related risk behaviors (e.g., unprotected sexual behavior with multiple or same-sex partners, injection drug use) are not socially accepted in China [2]. In addition, since HIV/AIDS is characterized as a degenerative and unalterable illness, people may have fears (e.g., fear of the disease, contagion, and death) towards PLWH and such fears may lead to universal expression of stigma [5]. On the other hand, PLWH who view themselves as persons responsible for their own behaviors are likely to experience intensive shame and guilt towards themselves [6].

The prevalent stigma PLWH are likely facing in China may be further explained by the collective culture and perspective of traditional Chinese medicine [7]. Collective culture in China demands that individuals’ behaviors conform to social norms and punish those whose behaviors are deviant [7,8,9]. As some PLWH engage in HIV-related risk behaviors (e.g., commercial sex, homosexuality, and intravenous drug use) deviant from the socially approved norms, PLWH as a group are faced with social disapproval and discrimination [7]. On the other hand, traditional Chinese medicine often associates a disease “caused by immoral behaviors” with “a spiritual attack from evil sources that have lodged in the body or taken over the person” [7]. Thus, PLWH are considered to be associated with evil spirit and stigmatized from the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine.

Perceived and internalized stigma (PIS) includes two important types of stigma, which are prevalent among PLWH and closely related to mental and behavioral health [10, 11]. Perceived HIV-related stigma is defined as awareness of discriminatory and prejudicial attitudes from people in the society [12]. People who internalize stigma have negative beliefs and self-images and often low self-esteem as a result of internalizing negative views from the society [10, 12, 13]. Individuals who perceive stigma from other people in the society are usually vulnerable to feelings of self-hatred especially when they internalize the negative views of themselves from the society [10]. The combined effects of perceived and internalized stigma may lead to a series of consequences, such as non-disclosure of HIV infection, seclusion, depressive symptoms, and suicidal ideation and attempt [11, 14].

Literature has shown that perceived and internalized stigma plays a critical and direct role on depression [10, 11]. A cross-sectional study of 310 female sex workers (FSWs) in Guangxi, China reported that perceived stigma was significantly associated with FSWs’ poor mental health (e.g., elevated depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, and suicidal attempt) [11]. Another study of 268 PLWH in Milwaukee, Madison, and New York City found that internalized stigma was significantly associated with depression, anxiety, and hopelessness [10].

Consequences of depression in PLWH are many, such as weakening treatment effects, accelerating progression of AIDS, deteriorating immune system, increasing risks of morbidity and mortality, and decreasing quality of life of PLWH [15,16,17,18]. One of the most detrimental consequences of depression in PLWH is the increased likelihood of committing suicide in this population, as many studies found that PLWH reported elevated levels of suicide [19,20,21]. According to O’Carrol, suicidal status is defined as self-reported suicidal ideation and/or suicidal attempt, in which suicidal ideation is the consideration of committing suicide, and suicidal attempt is the actual action of committing suicide [22, 23].

Most studies on suicidal status in PLWH were conducted in the western countries, with few studies reported from develo** countries such as China [19,20,21, 24,25,26,27]. Among the few, one study, conducted among 184 HIV positive men who have sex with men (MSM) in Anhui province of China reported that 31% and 5.4% of the participants had had suicidal ideation and suicidal attempt respectively in the past six months. The previous study also found that both perceived stigma and depression were significantly associated with increased likelihood of suicidal ideation in HIV-seropositive MSM [24]. Existing studies on stigma, depression, and suicide among PLWH have typically employed relational analyses demonstrating associations between these concepts, few have examined the mediating effect and mechanisms among these concepts.

The current study will employ structural equation model (SEM) to explore the mediating effect of depression and mechanisms among PIS, depression, and suicidal status in PLWH in addition to examining the proportions of depression and suicidal status among PLWH. We hypothesize that: (1) PIS has a significant direct effect on both depression and suicidal status; and (2) PIS has a significant indirect effect on suicidal status, mediated by depression (a higher level of PIS is associated with a higher level of depression, which in turn is associated with increased likelihood of suicidal status).

Methods

Study site

Participants were recruited from outpatient and inpatient departments of an HIV/AIDS treatment hospital in Guangzhou, China in 2013. Guangzhou, the capital city of Guangdong province, is the third biggest city in China and the biggest in South China, with 8.54 millions resident population in 2015 [28]. The hospital is the only treatment provider for PLWH in the metropolitan area of Guangzhou.

Participants and sampling

A cross-sectional study by convenience sampling was conducted. Inclusion criteria for the current study were HIV-seropositive status (registered in the hospital system or with an official document), at least 18 years of age (self-reported and verified by the official document when needed), willing to provide written informed consent, and agreeing to participate in the study. PLWH who reported unable to finish the questionnaire due to mental illness or other reasons (e.g., not having had enough time) were excluded. Participants were recruited through direct approach of our outreach staff. PLWH would be recruited if they agreed to provide written informed consent. Patients who met the inclusion criteria were asked to complete a paper-based questionnaire in the waiting room with an interviewer being present. The interviewer would only provide assistance upon request. Interviewers had received extensive training on research ethics and assessment methodology prior to data collection. A meal voucher or a small gift equivalent to two US dollars was given to the participants as a token of appreciation for their participation. A total of 450 PLWH were recruited and 39 questionnaires were invalid as participants did not finish these questionnaires due to various reasons (e.g., physical examination, outpatient appointment), resulting in 411 (91.3%, 411/450) PLWH in the current study. The current study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Sun Yat-sen University.

Measurements

Socio-demographic characteristics

Participants provided socio-demographic characteristics including age (in years), gender (1 = male, 0 = female), ethnicity (1 = Han, 0 = others), education (1: <high school, 2: high school, 3: >high school), marital status (1 = never married, 2 = married/cohabited, 3 = separated/divorced/widowed), sexual orientation (1 = heterosexual, 0 = homosexual/bisexual/uncertain), and duration since HIV diagnosis (in years).

Perceived and internalized stigma

Perceived and internalized stigma (PIS) was measured by fourteen statements derived from HIV Stigma Scale [43, 44]. A study of 2909 PLWH in the four US cities (San Francisco, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, and New York City) found that PLWH who reported lower levels of co** self-efficacy were more likely to report suicidal ideation [44]. The mediating role of depression on the association between stigma and suicide is confirmed in the current study, but the plausible explanation of co** self-efficacy needs further exploration in future research.

Since PIS is directly associated with both depression and suicidal status, reducing PIS is not only conducive to alleviate depressive symptoms in PLWH, but also important to reduce the likelihood of suicide in this population. The severity of suicidal status may well be underestimated in the current study, as those who had successfully committed suicide were excluded from the sample. Targeted interventions to reduce PIS are urgently needed for the psychological well-being of PLWH and reduction of suicide in PLWH.

In the efforts of preventing suicide in PLWH, it is of great importance and urgency to improve their mental health status, as depression may lead to suicidal ideation and attempt [21]. Results of bivariate analyses showed that PLWH who had higher level of depression were more likely to have suicidal ideation or suicidal attempt. In addition, outcomes of SEM showed that the impact of depression on suicidal status was significant. Thus, the risk of suicide would increase as the level of depression increased among PLWH. Furthermore, depression played a partial mediating role on the association between PIS and the likelihood of suicide, and the effect of indirect pathway was comparable to the effect of direct pathway, with no statistical significance between the two (Wald Chi-square value = 0.04, p = 0.85). The impact of PIS on suicide through this indirect path is as important as the direct path, which suggests that in order to reduce suicide of PLWH, targeted interventions to reduce depression in PLWH may be equally effective as to reduce the impact of PIS on suicidal status of PLWH. All the above evidences indicate that to improve mental health of PLWH is critical and potentially effective in reducing suicide in PLWH.

It is also worth mentioning the effects of gender and sexual orientation on suicidal status of PLWH. PLWH who were male were more likely to have suicidal ideation or attempt suicide than PLWH who were female (35.7% vs. 24.8%). PLWH who were homosexual/bisexual/uncertain had a much higher proportion of suicide than those who were heterosexual (42.0% vs. 27.9%). In the current study, almost all of the PLWH who were homosexual/bisexual/uncertain were male (97.7%). Among the PLWH who were homosexual/bisexual, two-thirds (66.4%) were never married. PLWH who were homosexual/bisexual were facing double stigma from both HIV infection and sexual orientation [24, 45,46,47]. In the traditional Chinese culture, getting married, bearing children, and carrying on family names are considered to be the most important responsibilities for men [45, 47]. Males who fail to fulfill these obligations are regarded as shameful, selfish, and shrinking from their familial responsibilities [45]. Suffering from double stigma and not being able to fulfill their familial responsibilities, PLWH who are homosexual/bisexual may experience tremendous stress and consequent mental illnesses (e.g., depression, anxiety). Differences in suicidal status between male and female, and between homosexual/bisexual and heterosexual in PLWH found in the current study deserve further investigation in the future.

Efficient and effective HIV prevention and intervention efforts to reduce suicide in PLWH should be designed and implemented at both societal and individual levels. At societal level, structured efforts should be made to promote public education of HIV-related knowledge to both the general population and healthcare providers, to improve awareness and reduce stigma towards HIV/AIDS and its carriers [48,49,50,51]. Policies should also be made at the societal level to enhance social support towards PLWH, to improve their psychological well-being (e.g., less depressive symptoms, less anxiety) and health-related behaviors (e.g., active co**, medication adherence, regular check-up). Policies should not only be made for the formal health care institutions (e.g., hospitals, centers for disease control and prevention (CDCs)), but also for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that have played an important role in HIV prevention and patient care (e.g., health education, behavioral intervention, and care for PLWH) [52, 53]. Many NGOs are not officially registered and acknowledged in China even though some of them are working for the government (e.g., CDCs). In addition, financial investments on NGOs should be increased and engagement of NGOs to HIV/AIDS prevention and care for PLWH should be encouraged [52, 53]. At individual level, psychological counseling and interventions are needed to reduce individuals’ internalized stigma, depression, and suicidal ideation, and to improve mental health status and quality of life of PLWH [54,55,56,57]. However, such efforts, especially well-designed psychosocial programs, are still much needed for most PLWH in China [58,59,60].

There are some limitations in the current study. First, this is a cross-sectional study, thus causal relationships cannot be drawn from the study. To verify the mediating effect of depression on the association between PIS and suicidal status, longitudinal studies are needed. Second, as all measurements were self-reported, recall biases of some questions, such as depression and suicidal status (suicidal ideation and suicidal attempt), might exist. However, proportions of depression and suicide were likely to be more conservative in the current study due to response biases to sensitive questions and unavoidable sampling bias as those who had successfully committed suicide were excluded from the current study.

Third, the current study did not differentiate inpatient from outpatient PLWH who might be different in socio-demographic characteristics, depression, suicidal status, and PIS. Further research with larger samples of both inpatient and outpatient PLWH are needed to enable testing the equality of factor structures and structural relationships between the two groups. Fourth, results of the current study may have limited generalizability to PLWH who refused to participate in this study and who were not clinic-based as the latter might be more stigmatized and marginalized with elevated mental health problems. Finally, cautions should also be given to generalize the results from the current study in one metropolitan city to other areas of China or worldwide.

Conclusions

In conclusion, the current study found that PLWH had experienced a high level of suicidal status (suicidal ideation and suicidal attempt). In the context of Chinese culture, the current study provided insights into the relationships among PIS, depression, and suicidal status in PLWH and evidences that depression played a mediating role in the association between PIS and suicide. The indirect effect of PIS on suicide through depression was as important as the direct effect. Interventions focused on reducing PIS of HIV/AIDS and depressive symptoms of PLWH simultaneously may be effective in reducing suicidal ideation and attempts among PLWH.