According to the study, depression has been reported in 8 – 45% of patients with post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome (PTLDS), but little was known about suicidal tendencies in these patients. The extent and severity of depression and suicidality was compared between PTLDS and HIV/AIDS patients, and a non-patient control group was compared. The results conclusively demonstrate that suicidal tendencies increase among patients who are depressed and that, perhaps surprisingly, depression experienced by PTLDS and HIV/AIDS patients was statistically indistinguishable. This seminal study highlights the fact that one in five patients with PTLDS reported suicidal thoughts and the importance of screening for depression and suicidality to optimize patient care.

Joint study conducted by scientists at Global Lyme Alliance (GLA) and Brown University estimates that two million people in the United States could suffer profound disability from post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome (PTLD) by the year 2020.

Published in BMC Public Health: https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-019-6681-9
PubMed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/31014314/