Determinants of Depression Among HIV Patients Attending the Weija-Gbawe Municipal Hospital in Accra Ghana

Introduction: The risk of depression among Persons Living with HIV is reported to be 2-5 times the risk among HIV-negative people. This higher risk is believed to be an outcome of several factors, including the impact of the infection itself, the side effects of the Antiretroviral Therapy drugs, stigma from society, the burden of life-long treatment, and the challenges with an economically productive life, living with the disease. Whilst depression among HIV patients and its consequences on the progression of the disease are well documented, the factors that predispose to depression among this sub-population, particularly in Ghana, have not been explicitly described. This study sought to estimate the prevalence and determinants of depression among PLWHIV attending the Weija-Gbawe Municipal Hospital in Accra. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Weija-Gbawe Municipal Hospital within the Accra Metropolis of Ghana over a period of 4 weeks. A total of 319 participants’ data were analyzed using Stata version 17. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were fitted to identify factors associated with depressive symptoms among participants. Results: The prevalence of depression among HIV-positive patients on ART in the Accra Metropolis is 58.3%. Mild depressive symptoms were observed in 14.7% of participants, 24.1% showed moderate depressive symptoms, 11.3% showed moderately severe symptoms of depression and 8.2% showed severe depressive symptoms. The determinants that were significantly associated with an increased risk of depression among PLWHIV were age (AOR= 0.33, 95% CI 0.14-0.77), marital status (AOR= 0.38, 95% CI 0.18-0.81), monthly expenditure (AOR= 7.78, 95% CI 1.49-40.56), being bothered by HIV-related comorbidity (AOR 42.78, 95% CI 8.07-226.81), and availability of social support (AOR= 0.31, 95% CI 0.11-0.90). Conclusions: The prevalence of depression is high among PLWHIV and the determinants are mainly age and social factors that are amenable to targeted interventions to improve treatment outcomes and patients’ well-being.