Prevalence and Severity of Depression Among Adults Living with HIV/AIDS Accessing Care at the ART Clinic of a Tertiary Health Facility in North-Central Nigeria

Abstract

Depression is a significant menta1! health concern globally. Among people' living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV), depressive symptoms are particularly prevalent, and this can impact the effective management of the disease; Nigeria ranks fourth in the global HIV/AIDS burden. Several factors have been associated with the development of depression among PLHIV. This study aimed to explore the prevalence of depression among PLHIV and its association with socio-demographic characteristics to enhance disease management and patient care. A hospital-based, cross-sectional study was conducted at the anti-retroviral therapy (ART) clinic of Bingham University Teaching Hospital (BHUTH), Jos Nigeria. Using a simple random sampling; pdults living with HIV/AIDS receiving treatment at the ART clinic from September to December 2022; were recruited. The Patient Health' Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and a socio-demographic questionnaire were used.- Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 26 and the level of significance was set at a p-value of 0.05. Five hundred and ninety-two (592) patients participated. There was a predominance of females (421, 71.1%), More than half (341, 57.6%) of participants were married. One hundred and ninety-four (32.8%) of them had attained a tertiary level of education. A ■44.9% prevalence rate of depression was found. Participants with mild 'depression were 191 (32.2%), while 59 (10.0%) were moderately depressed) 12 (2.0%) had moderately severe; depression, and 4 (0.7%) were severely depressed. There was a significant association between depression and the participants’ age (x2 = 26.58, pls 0.04), gender (x2 = 8.02, p = 0.03), occupation (x2 = 24.04,:p = 0.02), and educational level (x2 = 28.79, p .= 0.03). This study highlights the significant prevalence of depression and its severity among adults living wqti,. HIV/AIDS and identifies some, sppigi. demographic factors associated with depression. If is therefore crucial to adequately integrate mental health care into the management program of PLHIV to curtail the menace of depression.