A Cross-Sectional Study to Evaluate the Effects of Age and Duration of HIV Infection on Anxiety and Depression in Cisgender Men

Abstract

This observational cross-sectional study of 152 people with HIV (PWH) examined the effects of age and estimated duration of HIV infection (EDI) on depressive and anxiety symptoms. All participants were cisgender men and completed the Profile of Moods State (POMS), a self-report inventory of current (i.e., past week) mood states. Overall, study results confirmed higher levels of anxiety and depression in PWH compared to individuals without HIV. Age group (< 50 or ≥ 50 years) moderated the effect of EDI (< 3 or ≥ 3 years) on mood disturbance. Specifically, younger PWH with early diagnosed infection exhibited the highest levels of depression and anxiety, whereas depression and anxiety were attenuated in older PWH with early infection such that their POMS scores did not significantly differ from the HIV-negative and chronically HIV-infected groups. Despite the small sample size and other important limitations in our study design, our preliminary findings confirm previous observations that older people may have some adaptive ability to better handle the acute psychological stressors associated with recent HIV infection.

Keywords: Anxiety; Depression; Duration of HIV infection; HIV.

Fig. 1

Data are expressed as mean +/− standard error. Significant or trend-level age group differences, stratified by estimated duration of infection (EDI), are displayed below the x-axis. Significant or trend-level EDI group differences, stratified by age, are displayed above the x-axis. Statistical significance determined with Wilcoxon pairwise comparisons