Background

With increased life expectancy for HIV-infected persons, there is concern regarding comorbid depression because of its common occurrence and association with behaviors that may facilitate HIV transmission. Our objectives were to estimate the prevalence of current depression among HIV-infected persons receiving care and assess the burden of major depression, relative to that in the general population.

Methods and Findings

We used data from the Medical Monitoring Project (MMP) and the Behavioral Risk Factors Surveillance System (BRFSS). The eight-item Patient Health Questionnaire was used to identify depression. To assess the burden of major depression among HIV-infected persons receiving care, we compared the prevalence of current major depression between the MMP and BRFSS populations using stratified analyses that simultaneously controlled for gender and, in turn, each of the potentially confounding demographic factors of age, race/ethnicity, education, and income. Each unadjusted comparison was summarized as a prevalence ratio (PR), and each of the adjusted comparisons was summarized as a standardized prevalence ratio (SPR). Among HIV-infected persons receiving care, the prevalence of a current episode of major depression and other depression, respectively, was 12.4% (95% CI: 11.2, 13.7) and 13.2% (95% CI: 12.0%, 14.4%). Overall, the PR comparing the prevalence of current major depression between HIV-infected persons receiving care and the general population was 3.1. When controlling for gender and each of the factors age, race/ethnicity, and education, the SPR (3.3, 3.0, and 2.9, respectively) was similar to the PR. However, when controlling for gender and annual household income, the SPR decreased to 1.5.

Conclusions

Depression remains a common comorbidity among HIV-infected persons. The overall excess burden among HIV-infected persons receiving care is about three-times that among the general population and is associated with differences in annual household income between the two populations. Relevant efforts are needed to reduce this burden.