BACKGROUND: Major depressive disorder in people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) is common and may be associated with a number of factors, including AIDS-related stigma, decreased CD4 levels, increased opportunistic infections and sociodemographic variables. The extent to which AIDS-related stigma is associated with major depressive disorder among PLWHA has not been well studied in sub-Saharan Africa. The objective of this study was to examine the associations between major depressive disorder, AIDS-related stigma, immune status, and sociodemographic variables with the aim of making recommendations that can guide clinicians. METHODS: We assessed 368 PLWHA for major depressive disorder, as well as for potentially associated factors, including AIDS-related stigma, CD4 levels, presence of opportunistic infections, and sociodemographic variables. RESULTS: The prevalence of major depressive disorder was 17.4%, while 7.9% of the participants had AIDS related stigma. At multivariable analysis, major depressive disorder was significantly associated with AIDS-related stigma [OR = 1.65, CI (1.20-2.26)], a CD4 count of ≥200 [OR 0.52 CI (0.27-0.99)], and being of younger age [0.95, CI (0.92-0.98). CONCLUSIONS: Due to the high burden of major depressive disorder, and its association with AIDS related stigma, routine screening of PLWHA for both conditions is recommended. However, more research is required to understand this association.
Reference:
Akena, D., Musisi, S., Joska, J., & Stein, D. J. (2011). The association between aids related stigma and major depressive disorder among HIV-positive individuals in Uganda. PloS one, 7(11), e48671. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0048671
Akena, D., Musisi, S., Joska, J., & Stein, D. J. (2012). The association between aids related stigma and major depressive disorder among HIV-positive individuals in Uganda. PLoS One, http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15358
Akena, Dickens, Seggane Musisi, John Joska, and Dan J Stein "The association between aids related stigma and major depressive disorder among HIV-positive individuals in Uganda." PLoS One (2012) http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15358
Akena D, Musisi S, Joska J, Stein DJ. The association between aids related stigma and major depressive disorder among HIV-positive individuals in Uganda. PLoS One. 2012; http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15358.
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.