1. Relationships of Illness Perceptions with Depression and Anxiety in People Who Live with HIV/AIDS in a High-prevalence Ethnic Autonomous Region of Sichuan, China
- Author
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Chuanteng Feng, Bin Yu, Yao Fu, Jan D. Reinhardt, and Shujuan Yang
- Subjects
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome ,China ,Infectious Diseases ,Social Psychology ,Depression ,Prevalence ,Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health ,Humans ,HIV Infections ,Anxiety - Abstract
Poor mental health challenges outcomes and treatment of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and may be related to illness perceptions. To investigate if depression and anxiety were associated with illness perceptions, we drew a random sample of 729 PLWHA from 13 administrative units in Liangshan Prefecture, Sichuan, China. Among the PLWHA surveyed, 222 and 175 had probable anxiety or depression. In mixed-effects logistic regression, negative illness perceptions were associated with increased odds of anxiety/depression. In linear mixed-effects quantile regression, the relationship of more negative illness perceptions with more severe and frequent symptoms of anxiety/depression grew stronger in the upper quantiles of the GAD-7 and PHQ-9 distributions, well beyond scale cut-offs for probable clinical relevance. We hypothesize that negative illness perceptions of HIV/AIDS and severity of depression and anxiety symptoms may mutually reinforce each other. Illness perceptions are a promising intervention target for improving the mental health of PLWHA.
- Published
- 2022
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