Depressive symptoms, HIV medication adherence, and HIV clinical outcomes in Tanzania: a prospective, observational study.

Depressive symptoms have been shown to independently affect both antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence and HIV clinical outcomes in high-income countries. We examined the prospective relationship between depressive symptoms and adherence, virologic failure, and suppressed immune function in people...

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Main Authors: Nadya M Belenky, Stephen R Cole, Brian W Pence, Dafrosa Itemba, Venance Maro, Kathryn Whetten
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2014-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0095469
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author Nadya M Belenky
Stephen R Cole
Brian W Pence
Dafrosa Itemba
Venance Maro
Kathryn Whetten
author_facet Nadya M Belenky
Stephen R Cole
Brian W Pence
Dafrosa Itemba
Venance Maro
Kathryn Whetten
author_sort Nadya M Belenky
collection DOAJ
description Depressive symptoms have been shown to independently affect both antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence and HIV clinical outcomes in high-income countries. We examined the prospective relationship between depressive symptoms and adherence, virologic failure, and suppressed immune function in people living with HIV/AIDS in Tanzania. Data from 403 study participants who were on stable ART and engaged in HIV clinical care were analyzed. We assessed crude and adjusted associations of depressive symptoms and ART adherence, both at baseline and at 12 months, using logistic regression. We used logistic generalized estimating equations to assess the association and 95% confidence intervals (CI) between depressive symptoms and both virologic failure and suppressed immune function. Ten percent of participants reported moderate or severe depressive symptoms at baseline and 31% of participants experienced virologic failure (>150 copies/ml) over two years. Depressive symptoms were associated with greater odds of reported medication nonadherence at both baseline (Odds Ratio [OR] per 1-unit increase = 1.18, 95% CI [1.12, 1.24]) and 12 months (OR = 1.08, 95% CI [1.03, 1.14]). By contrast, increases in depressive symptom score were inversely related to both virologic failure (OR = 0.93, 95% CI [0.87, 1.00]) and immune system suppression (OR = 0.88, 95% CI [0.79, 0.99]), though the association between depressive symptoms and clinical outcomes was less precise than for the association with nonadherence. Findings indicate a positive association between depressive symptoms and nonadherence, and also an inverse relationship between depressive symptoms and clinical outcomes, possibly due to informative loss to follow-up.
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spelling doaj-art-18afc23d4ea44cc49d716b796de332b32025-08-20T03:58:36ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032014-01-0195e9546910.1371/journal.pone.0095469Depressive symptoms, HIV medication adherence, and HIV clinical outcomes in Tanzania: a prospective, observational study.Nadya M BelenkyStephen R ColeBrian W PenceDafrosa ItembaVenance MaroKathryn WhettenDepressive symptoms have been shown to independently affect both antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence and HIV clinical outcomes in high-income countries. We examined the prospective relationship between depressive symptoms and adherence, virologic failure, and suppressed immune function in people living with HIV/AIDS in Tanzania. Data from 403 study participants who were on stable ART and engaged in HIV clinical care were analyzed. We assessed crude and adjusted associations of depressive symptoms and ART adherence, both at baseline and at 12 months, using logistic regression. We used logistic generalized estimating equations to assess the association and 95% confidence intervals (CI) between depressive symptoms and both virologic failure and suppressed immune function. Ten percent of participants reported moderate or severe depressive symptoms at baseline and 31% of participants experienced virologic failure (>150 copies/ml) over two years. Depressive symptoms were associated with greater odds of reported medication nonadherence at both baseline (Odds Ratio [OR] per 1-unit increase = 1.18, 95% CI [1.12, 1.24]) and 12 months (OR = 1.08, 95% CI [1.03, 1.14]). By contrast, increases in depressive symptom score were inversely related to both virologic failure (OR = 0.93, 95% CI [0.87, 1.00]) and immune system suppression (OR = 0.88, 95% CI [0.79, 0.99]), though the association between depressive symptoms and clinical outcomes was less precise than for the association with nonadherence. Findings indicate a positive association between depressive symptoms and nonadherence, and also an inverse relationship between depressive symptoms and clinical outcomes, possibly due to informative loss to follow-up.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0095469
spellingShingle Nadya M Belenky
Stephen R Cole
Brian W Pence
Dafrosa Itemba
Venance Maro
Kathryn Whetten
Depressive symptoms, HIV medication adherence, and HIV clinical outcomes in Tanzania: a prospective, observational study.
PLoS ONE
title Depressive symptoms, HIV medication adherence, and HIV clinical outcomes in Tanzania: a prospective, observational study.
title_full Depressive symptoms, HIV medication adherence, and HIV clinical outcomes in Tanzania: a prospective, observational study.
title_fullStr Depressive symptoms, HIV medication adherence, and HIV clinical outcomes in Tanzania: a prospective, observational study.
title_full_unstemmed Depressive symptoms, HIV medication adherence, and HIV clinical outcomes in Tanzania: a prospective, observational study.
title_short Depressive symptoms, HIV medication adherence, and HIV clinical outcomes in Tanzania: a prospective, observational study.
title_sort depressive symptoms hiv medication adherence and hiv clinical outcomes in tanzania a prospective observational study
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0095469
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