Adherence to highly active antiretroviral therapy in depressed patients with HIV/AIDS attending a Nigerian university teaching hospital clinic.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of depressive disorder in patients with HIV/AIDS receiving HAART; to determine the effect of depressive disorder on adherence to antiretroviral therapy; and to determine the significance of the association.
METHOD: The study was conducted amongst outpatients of Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria. A sociodemographic and drug adherence questionnaire was administered. The Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) was used to screen for depressive symptoms while the Schedule for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry (SCAN) was used to confirm the diagnosis of depressive disorder.
RESULTS: A total of 310 patients with HIV/AIDS receiving HAART participated in the study. 68.4% were female and the mean age was 35.5 (± 8.97 years). 37.4% had secondary education, while 27.1% had tertiary education. Sixty-six participants (21.3%) had significant depressive symptoms while 14.2% met ICD-10 diagnostic criteria for depressive disorder. Overall, 73% of participants had good adherence to HAART. 63.6% of participants with depressive disorder had poor adherence to HAART compared to 21.1% of participants without depressive disorder (p<0.05).
CONCLUSION: Depressive disorder in patients with HIV/AIDS is associated with poor adherence to antiretroviral medication. Early identification and treatment of depression in such patients may improve antiretroviral medication adherence and treatment outcomes.