[ART adherence and its association with depression, anxiety and stress].

Abstract

Background: Stress, anxiety, and depression are associated with low adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) in HIV patients, but there are no reports of this association in southeastern Mexico.

Objective: To describe the frequency of adherence to ART and its association with depression, anxiety, and stress.

Material and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted. 442 HIV-positive outpatients treated at General Hospital Number 1 in Tapachula, Chiapas, in the period August-December 2022 were analyzed. Adherence to ART was assessed with the Simplified Medication Adherence Questionnaire (SMAQ) and the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) was applied. To assess the association between variables, adjusted odds ratios (aOR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using a multivariate logistic regression model. Cases with ART adherence between 95% and 100% were compared with those with ART adherence below 95%.

Results: Of the total 442 HIV-positive subjects, 344 had ART adherence between 95% and 100%, and 98 had ART adherence below 95%. The frequencies of depression, anxiety, and stress were 33%, 13.3%, and 8.8%, respectively. Associations were observed between ART adherence below 95% and anxiety, depression, and stress.

Conclusions: Since low ART adherence was associated with depression, anxiety, and stress among HIV-positive patients, early mental health interventions may help improve therapeutic adherence.