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. 2024 Oct;14(10):e70021.
doi: 10.1002/brb3.70021.

Mental health and its consequences in people living with HIV: A network approach

Elise M G Meeder  1   2   3 , Louise E van Eekeren  4 , Marc J T Blaauw  4   5 , Albert L Groenendijk  4   6 , Wilhelm A J W Vos  4   7 , Jan van Lunzen  4 , Leo A B Joosten  4   8 , Mihai G Netea  4   9 , Quirijn de Mast  4 , Willem L Blok  7 , Annelies Verbon  6 , Marvin A H Berrevoets  5 , Vasiliki Matzaraki  4 , Andre J A M van der Ven  4 , Arnt F A Schellekens  1   2   3
Affiliations

Mental health and its consequences in people living with HIV: A network approach

Elise M G Meeder et al. Brain Behav. 2024 Oct.

Abstract

Objectives: Psychiatric symptoms occur frequently in people living with human immunodeficiency virus (PLWH), which may affect quality of life, sexual risk behavior, and adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART). Data from large cohorts are limited, and symptoms are often analyzed in isolation. Therefore, we applied a network analysis to assess the interrelatedness of mental health indicators in a large cohort of PLWH.

Methods: We included 1615 PLWH on ART. Participants reported on the severity of depression, anxiety, impulsivity, substance use, quality of life, sexual risk behavior, and ART adherence. An Ising network model was constructed to analyze interrelations between mental health indicators and connections with clinical consequences.

Results: Our network analysis revealed that symptoms of depression, anxiety, and indicators of impulsivity were interrelated. Substance use was prevalent and strongly connected with sexual risk behavior. Quality of life was most strongly connected with symptoms of depression. Unexpectedly, ART adherence did not display connections with any of the mental health indicators.

Conclusion: In PLWH, the interrelatedness between symptoms of depression and anxiety and indicators of impulsivity is high. Mainly, depressive symptoms seem to impact quality of life, which warrants attention for depression in PLWH. We did not observe evidence for the common assumption that patients suffering from psychiatric symptoms are less adherent to HIV treatment.

Keywords: HIV; network analysis; psychiatry; quality of life; substance use.

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Conflict of interest statement

ViiV Healthcare funded this study but was not involved in data quality control, statistical analyses, or data interpretation. J.L. was previously employed by ViiV Healthcare.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Network of symptoms of depression (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale [HADS]), anxiety (HADS), indicators of impulsivity (Barratt Impulsiveness Scale [BIS]‐11), substance use (Measurements in the Addictions for Triage and Evaluation [MATE]‐Q), quality of life (EuroQol 5‐dimension 5‐level questionnaire [EQ‐5D‐5L]), antiretroviral therapy (ART) nonadherence (Morisky Medication Adherence Scale [MMAS]‐8), and sexual risk behavior in the 2000HIV cohort. For the legend of the node abbreviations, see Table 2.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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