Identifying factors associated with depression among men living with HIV/AIDS and undergoing antiretroviral therapy: a cross-sectional study in Heilongjiang, China

Huan Liu,Yu Cui,Lemeng Qu,Miaomiao Zhao,Qunhong Wu,Tong Zheng,Xinye Qi,Hong Sun,Jiaojiao Ren,Cunling Yan

doi:10.1186/s12955-018-1020-x

Abstract

BackgroundDepression is common among people living with HIV/AIDS; however, studies focusing on the depression of men living with HIV/AIDS are limited. Therefore, we examined the prevalence of depression and its associated factors among men living with HIV/AIDS in China.MethodsA cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted in Harbin, China between March and August in 2013. Two-hundred twenty participants completed the Burns Depression Checklist, the Berger HIV Stigma, and the SPIEGEL questionnaire. We also investigated demographics, family support, hostility, and the antiretroviral therapy side effects of men living with HIV/AIDS.ResultsMore than 40% of respondents had depressive symptoms and worry about the health was the major symptom of depression (40.9%). The logistic regression model indicated that bad sleep quality (OR = 3.452), hostility (OR = 1.120), perceived discrimination (OR = 1.110), and antiretroviral therapy side effects (OR = 1.083) were positively associated with depression. Family support (OR = 0.860) was negatively associated with depression for men living with HIV/AIDS. Demographic variables, HIV infection route, disease duration, and CD4+ cell count had no significant associations with depression.ConclusionAlthough China’s work of national HIV prevention and treatment has made much progress during the past several years, the prevalence of depression among men living with patients with HIV/AIDS is still prominent. The strongest factor associated with depression among men living with HIV/AIDS was sleep quality. Future studies should explore the effects of interventions for depression among PLWHA.

Highlights

Depression is common among people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS); studies focusing on the depression of men living with HIV/AIDS are limited
We found that household monthly income per capita, dyssomnia, family support, hostility, higher antiretroviral therapy (ART) side effects, and perceived discrimination were significantly associated with depression (p < .05)
We found potential factors that were associated with our outcomes, further studies should focus on improving sleep quality, alleviating side effects, reducing hostility and perceived discrimination, and strengthening family support to observe whether these actions are effective at reducing depression in patients with HIV/AIDS

Summary

Introduction

Depression is common among people living with HIV/AIDS; studies focusing on the depression of men living with HIV/AIDS are limited. We examined the prevalence of depression and its associated factors among men living with HIV/AIDS in China. In China, more than 820,000 people were living with HIV/AIDS as of June 2018 [2]. Among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), depression is the most frequently observed psychiatric disorder [5]. Many scholars have found that the prevalence of depression is high among HIV-infected Indian individuals, with a prevalence ranging from 25 to 67.3% [10,11,12,13]. A high incidence of depression among PLWHA is common in China. Sun and colleagues reported that 73.1% of PLWHA had depression [18], which is much higher than the rate in the general population in China (15.1–22.5%) [19]

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