Research Group: Mental Health

The Mental Health Research Group investigates (1) the epidemiology of mental illness, (2) the epidemiology of suicide, (3) interactions between mental illness and physical diseases, (4) the provision of mental health care, and (5) the influence of mental illness on the treatment of physical comorbidities. Most of our research is conducted in Sub-Saharan Africa, with a particular focus on South Africa.

Research group members

Group leader

Group members

Ongoing projects

  • IeDEA International epidemiology Databases to Evaluate AIDS (IeDEA IV): Mental health and substance use disorders in people living with HIV in Southern Africa (NIH 2021-2026)
  • Transforming Mental Health Service Delivery in the Western Cape: The Integration of Digital Tools to Improve Care for Common and Severe Mental Health Conditions (Wellcome Trust, 2025-2026)

Completed projects

  • IeDEA International epidemiology Databases to Evaluate AIDS (IeDEA V): Mental health and substance use disorders in people living with HIV in Southern Africa (NIH 2016-2021)
  • Pathways from mental illness to the burden of disease: A causal mediation analysis of big data from South Africa (SNSF Ambizione, 2021-2025)

Key publications

  1. Skrivankova VW, Rabie S, Tlali M, Folb N, Chinogurei C, Bennett S, Wesso A, Ruffieux Y, Cornell M, Seedat S, Egger M, Davies MA, Maartens G, Joska. J A, Haas AD. Incidence and Prognostic Factors of Self-Harm and Subsequent Unnatural Death in South Africa: A Cohort Study. PLoS Med. In Press 2025. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1004765
  2. Ruffieux Y, Joska JA, Lang R, Zheng C, Folb N, Kirk GD, Parcesepe AM, Silverberg MJ, Napravnik S, Gebo K, Jr JJE, Hogan BC, Althoff KN, Tlali M, Grelotti DJ, Loutfy M, Rebeiro PF, Davies M, Egger M, Maartens G, Haas AD. Life‐years lost associated with mental disorders in people with HIV: a cohort study in South Africa, Canada and the United States. J Int AIDS Soc. 2025;28(8). doi:10.1002/jia2.70023
  3. Gastaldon C, Whitesell Skrivankova V, Schoretsanitis G, Folb N, Taghavi K, Davies MA, Cornell M, Salanti G, Mesa Vieira C, Tlali M, Maartens G, Egger M, Haas AD. Diagnosis of postpartum depression and associated factors in South Africa: a cohort study of 47,697 women. Epidemiol Psychiatr Sci. 2025;34:e41. doi:10.1017/S2045796025100103
  4. Haas AD, Ruffieux Y, Tlali M, Rabie S, Egger M. Is suicide risk 100-­fold higher in people with HIV? A critical appraisal of a meta-analysis. Gen Psychiatr. Published online 2025. doi:10.1136/gpsych-2025-102210
  5. Didden C, Egger M, Folb N, Maartens G, Rohner E, Kassanjee R, Mesa-Vieira C, Kriel A, Seedat S, Haas AD. The Contribution of Noncommunicable and Infectious Diseases to the Effect of Depression on Mortality: A Longitudinal Causal Mediation Analysis. Epidemiology. 2025;36(1):88-98. doi:10.1097/EDE.0000000000001804
  6. Mesa-Vieira C, Didden C, Schomaker M, Mouton JP, Folb N, van den Heuvel LL, Gastaldon C, Cornell M, Tlali M, Kassanjee R, Franco OH, Seedat S, Haas AD. Post-traumatic stress disorder as a risk factor for major adverse cardiovascular events: a cohort study of a South African medical insurance scheme. Epidemiol Psychiatr Sci. 2024;33:e5. doi:10.1017/S2045796024000052
  7. Ruffieux Y, Wettstein A, Maartens G, Folb N, Mesa-Vieira C, Didden C, Tlali M, Williams C, Cornell M, Schomaker M, Johnson LF, Joska JA, Egger M, Haas AD. Life years lost associated with mental illness: A cohort study of beneficiaries of a South African medical insurance scheme. J Affect Disord. 2023;340:204-212. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2023.08.013
  8. Haas AD, Kunzekwenyika C, Manzero J, Hossmann S, Limacher A, van Dijk JH, Manhibi R, von Groote P, Hobbins MA, Verhey R, Egger M. Effect of the Friendship Bench Intervention on Antiretroviral Therapy Outcomes and Mental Health Symptoms in Rural Zimbabwe. JAMA Netw Open. 2023;6(7):e2323205. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.23205
  9. Haas AD, Lienhard R, Didden C, Cornell M, Folb N, Boshomane TMG, Salazar-Vizcaya L, Ruffieux Y, Nyakato P, Wettstein AE, Tlali M, Davies MA, von Groote P, Wainberg M, Egger M, Maartens G, Joska JA. Mental Health, ART Adherence, and Viral Suppression Among Adolescents and Adults Living with HIV in South Africa: A Cohort Study. AIDS Behav. Published online January 2, 2023. doi:10.1007/s10461-022-03916-x
  10. Tlali M, Scheibe A, Ruffieux Y, Cornell M, Wettstein AE, Egger M, Davies MA, Maartens G, Johnson LF, Haas AD. Diagnosis and treatment of opioid-related disorders in a South African private sector medical insurance scheme: A cohort study. International Journal of Drug Policy. 2022;109:103853. doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2022.103853
  11. Wettstein A, Tlali M, Joska JA, Cornell M, Skrivankova VW, Seedat S, Mouton JP, van den Heuvel LL, Maxwell N, Davies MA, Maartens G, Egger M, Haas AD. The effect of the COVID-19 lockdown on mental health care use in South Africa: an interrupted time-series analysis. Epidemiol Psychiatr Sci. 2022;31:e43. doi:10.1017/S2045796022000270
  12. Mesa-Vieira C, Haas AD, Buitrago-Garcia D, Roa-Diaz ZM, Minder B, Gamba M, Salvador D, Gomez D, Lewis M, Gonzalez-Jaramillo WC, Pahud de Mortanges A, Buttia C, Muka T, Trujillo N, Franco OH. Mental health of migrants with pre-migration exposure to armed conflict: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Public Health. 2022;7(5):e469-e481. doi:10.1016/S2468-2667(22)00061-5
  13. Ruffieux Y, Efthimiou O, Van den Heuvel LL, Joska JA, Cornell M, Seedat S, Mouton JP, Prozesky H, Lund C, Maxwell N, Tlali M, Orrell C, Davies MA, Maartens G, Haas AD. The treatment gap for mental disorders in adults enrolled in HIV treatment programmes in South Africa: a cohort study using linked electronic health records. Epidemiol Psychiatr Sci. 2021;30:e37. doi:10.1017/S2045796021000196
  14. Haas AD, Technau KG, Pahad S, Braithwaite K, Madzivhandila M, Sorour G, Sawry S, Maxwell N, Groote P, Tlali M, Davies MA, Egger M. Mental health, substance use and viral suppression in adolescents receiving ART at a paediatric HIV clinic in South Africa. J Int AIDS Soc. 2020;23(12):e25644. doi:10.1002/jia2.25644
  15. Haas AD, Ruffieux Y, van den Heuvel LL, Lund C, Boulle A, Euvrard J, Orrell C, Prozesky HW, Tiffin N, Lovero KL, Tlali M, Davies MA, Wainberg ML. Excess mortality associated with mental illness in people living with HIV in Cape Town, South Africa: a cohort study using linked electronic health records. Lancet Glob Health. 2020;8(10):e1326-e1334. doi:10.1016/S2214-109X(20)30279-5