Depression, psychosocial factors, and laboratory routine testing in people living with HIV in Northeastern Mexico: prevalence, correlations, and its associations

Abstract

Introduction: Depression is up to five times more prevalent in people living with HIV (PLWHIV). There are neurohormonal, virological and psychosocial factors involved and it is associated with antiretroviral treatment non-adherence, decreased life expectancy, faster progression to AIDS and premature death. Studies support that with lower CD4 levels, and the higher viral load (VL), depression increases. Objective: To establish whether there is a correlation and association between the VL and CD4 count with depression and its symptoms in PLWHIV. Method: Under follow-up in the Infectious Disease outpatient clinic a survey of sociodemographic variables, and a Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI) was applied to the study subjects, whose results were analyzed using Rho Spearman (rs) and Chi Squared test (X2) with VL and CD4 levels. Results: 137 individuals were included, from 18-73 years, which 97 (70.8%) were male assigned at birth. The prevalence of depression reported, was 25.5%. A positive correlation was found between VL and BDI score, and a negative correlation between BDI score and CD4. In addition, correlation was found between VL, and depressive symptoms such as guilt, discouragement and self-image perception. These symptoms were strongly associated with death wishes, previous suicide attempts, and treatment non-dherence. Conclusion: VL may have implication in depression and its symptoms in this population, so their control is extremely important to prevent depressive episodes and suicidal behavior and prolong treatment adherence.

Keywords

• depression
• HIV
• viral load
• CD4 cell count