A Study To Determine The Levels of Depression Among HIV Patients

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a global problem which either infects or affects someone and its effects are experienced even among those surrounding the person. Being the virus that causes Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), it kills or damages cells of the body’s immune system and, over time, destroys the body’s ability to fight against infections and certain diseases. As the virus actively multiplies and infects and kills the cells of the immune system, the carrier becomes prone to infections and disorders. One such disorder is depression. Studies show that as the number of HIV patients increases, the psychiatric aspect in adolescents with the virus is poorly studied. There are few data from nationally representative population-based studies that have examined the correlates of depression or whether HIV risk behaviors are associated with depression in sub-Saharan Africa. The limited number of existing studies addressing correlates of depression have been mostly small, focused on sub-populations, and have not examined many correlates that are particularly relevant in countries with high HIV prevalence. It is on these grounds that this study investigates the clinical levels of depression; the factor associated with depression and HIV carriers and identifies the carriers who are at risk for depression.