Table 4.
Suicidality among PLHIV
| Variable (n) | Categories | Frequency (%)a |
|---|---|---|
| Lifetime suicidal ideation (1187) | Yes | 170 (14.3) |
| No | 1017 (85.7) | |
| Age at first suicidal ideation (170) | Mean age | 29.6 years |
| Age range | 10–66 years | |
| 12-month suicidal ideation (169) | Yes | 35 (20.7) |
| No | 134 (79.3) | |
| Age at last suicidal ideation (138) | Mean age | 29.3 years |
| Age range | 11–53 years | |
| Lifetime planned suicide (170) | Yes | 62 (36.5) |
| No | 108 (63.5) | |
| Age at first suicidal planning (64) | Mean age | 28.2 years |
| Age range | 11–51 years | |
| 12-month planned suicide (65) | Yes | 8 (12.3) |
| No | 57 (87.7) | |
| Age at most recent suicidal planning (57) | Mean age | 28.2 years |
| Age range | 11–51 years | |
| Lifetime suicide attempt (170) | Yes | 34 (20.0) |
| No | 136 (80.0) | |
| Number of suicide attempts (34) | Modal times | Once (n = 27; 79.4%) |
| Range | 1–8 times | |
| Age first suicide attempt (7) | Mean age | 30.6 years |
| Age range | 23–43 years | |
| Describe suicide attempt (8) | Made a serious attempt to commit suicide | 6 (75.0) |
| Suicide attempt was a cry for help | 2 (25.0) | |
| 12-month suicide attempts (33) | Yes | 4 (12.1) |
| No | 29 (87.9) | |
| Age last suicide attempt (29) | Mean age | 17–43 years |
| Age range | 27.7 years | |
| Lethality (1) | Yes | 1 |
| Describe suicide attempt (32) | Made a serious attempt to commit suicide but was lucky it was unsuccessful | 22 (66.7) |
| Attempted suicide but knew that the method was not fool proof | 3 (9.1) | |
| Suicide attempt was a cry for help, did not intend to die | 7 (21.2) | |
| Suicide method (5) | Used sharp instruments | 1 |
| poisoning e.g. Carbon monoxide (CO), rat poison | 2 | |
| other | 1 | |
| Overdose of other drugs (e.g. alcohol, heroin, crack) | 1 |
aOnly valid percent reported