Description of Psychological Distress and Coping Style in HIV-infected Patients | Chapter 6 | Issues and Development in Health Research Vol. 3

 Background: The progression of HIV infection is associated with a considerable degree of mental anguish. The researchers wanted to see if there was a link between psychological distress, depression, coping style, and immune activity in HIV patients.

The goal of this study was to examine current understandings of depression and psychological distress among HIV-positive people in West Romania.

The study enlisted the participation of 110 HIV-positive people from Timisoara's Clinic of Infectious Diseases. The Beck depression inventory (BDI), the perceived stress scale (PSS), and the brief orienting to the problems experienced (Brief- COPE) scale were all used in each patient's self-report. Immune activation was measured using CD4 cell counts and viral load (VL).

The findings revealed that 26% of research participants had BDI scores suggesting moderate depression, whereas 3% had severe depression. Furthermore, PSS values of more than 10 were seen in 24.5 percent of the patients. Lower CD4 cell counts (r = 0.275, p0.004) and higher VL (r = 0.211, p 0.027) were associated with higher degrees of sadness. CD4 had a negative association with self-blaming, but VL had a positive relationship with behavioural disengagement.

Conclusion: Increased depression, in combination with higher levels of perceived psychological distress, leads to maladaptive coping strategies that are connected to HIV infection progression.

Author (S) Details

Iosif Marincu
Department of Infectious Diseases, Pneumology and Parasitology, “Victor Babes” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Timisoara, Methodological and Infectious Diseases Research Center, Romania.

Iulia Vidican
Department of Infectious Diseases, Pneumology and Parasitology, “Victor Babes” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Timisoara, Methodological and Infectious Diseases Research Center, Romania.

Felix Bratosin
Department of Infectious Diseases, Pneumology and Parasitology, “Victor Babes” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Timisoara, Methodological and Infectious Diseases Research Center, Romania.

Oana Suciu
Department of Infectious Diseases, Pneumology and Parasitology, “Victor Babes” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Timisoara, Methodological and Infectious Diseases Research Center, Romania.

Livius Tirnea
Department of Infectious Diseases, Pneumology and Parasitology, “Victor Babes” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Timisoara, Methodological and Infectious Diseases Research Center, Romania.

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