<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<bold>Introduction</bold>: Mental health issues are prevalent, yet their treatment remains inadequate. Tuberculosis presents substantial mental health challenges. Their co-occurrence is a frequent phenomenon. However, the integration of mental health professionals or services is not a common practice.
<bold>Purpose</bold>: To review the evidence about the relation between tuberculosis and mental health, and its consequences concerning the implementation of policies and services.
<bold>Methodology</bold>: We conducted a comprehensive review using the MeSH terms “Tuberculosis” and “Mental Health” on PubMed. We identified and assessed systematic reviews, regular reviews, scoping review and meta-analyses for their appropriateness and relevance.
<bold>Results</bold>: A total of 341 studies were accessed for eligibility and 17 studies were included. Mental disorders and tuberculosis are frequent comorbidities. Their relation is commonly described as “syndemic”. Shared risk factors, social vulnerabilities, and upstream social determinants are prevalent in both conditions. There is a potential for the integration of both conditions into policy and service organization.
<bold>Conclusions</bold>: Mental disorders treatment gap could be shortened by addressing mental health problems among TB patients. The WHO Global End TB Strategy prioritizes integrated patient-centered care, and fostering collaborative partnerships between tuberculosis and mental health services could enhance its implementation.
</abstract>

Introduction: Mental health issues are prevalent, yet their treatment remains inadequate. Tuberculosis presents substantial mental health challenges. Their co-occurrence is a frequent phenomenon. However, the integration of mental health professionals or services is not a common practice.
Purpose: To review the evidence about the relation between tuberculosis and mental health, and its consequences concerning the implementation of policies and services.
Methodology: We conducted a comprehensive review using the MeSH terms “Tuberculosis” and “Mental Health” on PubMed. We identified and assessed systematic reviews, regular reviews, scoping review and meta-analyses for their appropriateness and relevance.
Results: A total of 341 studies were accessed for eligibility and 17 studies were included. Mental disorders and tuberculosis are frequent comorbidities. Their relation is commonly described as “syndemic”. Shared risk factors, social vulnerabilities, and upstream social determinants are prevalent in both conditions. There is a potential for the integration of both conditions into policy and service organization.
Conclusions: Mental disorders treatment gap could be shortened by addressing mental health problems among TB patients. The WHO Global End TB Strategy prioritizes integrated patient-centered care, and fostering collaborative partnerships between tuberculosis and mental health services could enhance its implementation.

Syndemic Burden: Bridging the gap between Tuberculosis and Mental Health Care for Integrated Patient-Centered Solutions – a comprehensive review

Mental Health: Global Challenges

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Introduction: Mental health issues are prevalent, yet their treatment remains inadequate. Tuberculosis presents substantial mental health challenges. Their...

Syndemic Burden: Bridging the gap between Tuberculosis and Mental Health Care for Integrated Patient-Centered Solutions – a comprehensive review

Published Online: Feb 05, 2024

Page range: 14 - 26

Received: Oct 19, 2023

Accepted: Jan 31, 2024

DOI: https://doi.org/10.56508/mhgcj.v7i1.180

Keywords
Tuberculosis, Mental Health, Syndemic

© 2024 Sofia Sousa et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Syndemic Burden: Bridging the gap between Tuberculosis and Mental Health Care for Integrated Patient-Centered Solutions – a comprehensive review

Published Online: Feb 05, 2024

Page range: 14 - 26

Received: Oct 19, 2023

Accepted: Jan 31, 2024

DOI: https://doi.org/10.56508/mhgcj.v7i1.180

KeywordsTuberculosis, Mental Health, Syndemic

© 2024 Sofia Sousa et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Keywords
Tuberculosis, Mental Health, Syndemic