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Incidence and Persistence of Major Depressive Disorder Among People Living with HIV in Uganda

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Abstract

Data on the course of major depressive disorder (MDD) among people living with HIV (PLWH) are needed to inform refinement of screening and interventions for MDD. This paper describes the incidence and persistence rate of MDD in PLWH in Uganda. 1099 ART-naïve PLWH attending HIV clinics in Uganda were followed up for 12 months. MDD was assessed using the DSM IV based Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview with a prevalence for MDD at baseline of 14.0 % (95 % CI 11.7–16.3 %) reported. Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine predictors of incident and persistent MDD. Cumulative incidence of MDD was 6.1 per 100 person-years (95 % CI 4.6–7.8) with significant independent predictors of study site, higher baseline depression scores and increased stress. Persistence of MDD was 24.6 % (95 % CI 17.9–32.5 %) with independent significant predictors of study site, higher baseline depression scores, and increased weight. Risks of incident and persistent MDD observed in this study were high. Potentially modifiable factors of elevated baseline depressive scores and stress (only for incident MDD) were important predictors of incident and persistent MDD.

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Acknowledgments

We acknowledge the work and support provided by staff of the MRC/UVRI Mental Health Project. We would also like to acknowledge the support and corporation by the management and clients of The AIDS Support Organisation (TASO) Service Centres of Entebbe and Masaka.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mental Health Project, MRC/UVRI Uganda Research Unit on AIDS, P.O. Box 49, Entebbe, Uganda

    Eugene Kinyanda & Richard Mpango

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Makerere College of Health Sciences, Kampala, Uganda

    Eugene Kinyanda & Noeline Nakasujja

  3. London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK

    Eugene Kinyanda, Helen A. Weiss, Heiner Grosskurth, Ricardo Araya & Vikram Patel

  4. School of Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

    Jonathan Levin

  5. Butabika National Psychiatric Referral Hospital, Kampala, Uganda

    Harriet Birabwa & Juliet Nakku

  6. Department of Psychiatry, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa

    Soraya Seedat

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  1. Eugene Kinyanda
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  2. Helen A. Weiss
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Eugene Kinyanda.

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Conflict of interest

Author Eugene Kinyanda obtained funding from EDCTP (under grant No. TA.2010.40200.011) to undertake this study. The authors Helen A. Weiss, Jonathan Levin, Noeline Nakasujja, Harriet Birabwa, Juliet Nakku, Richard Mpango, Heiner Grosskurth, Soraya Seedat, Ricardo Araya, Vikram Patel have no potential conflict of interest to declare.

Research Involving Human Participants

All study procedures were undertaken in accordance with the ethical standards of the Uganda Virus Research Institute, Research and Ethical Committee and in conformity with the science and ethical standards of the Uganda National Council of Science and Technology and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Kinyanda, E., Weiss, H.A., Levin, J. et al. Incidence and Persistence of Major Depressive Disorder Among People Living with HIV in Uganda. AIDS Behav 21, 1641–1654 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-016-1575-7

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