Background Compared to the general population, there is an increased prevalence of depression in people living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA). The combination of these two common illnesses has profound consequences on the patient and on the healthcare system. Objective This study determined the prevalence of depressive symptomatology in PLWHA attending the Kalafong Hospital ARV Clinic. The study also established if the patients received definitive treatment for unipolar depression. Methods A cross-sectional, descriptive study was carried out on 622 adult patients, aged 18 years or older. A brief rating scale for depression, the Centre for Epidemiological Study Depression Scale (CES-D) was administered to participants. The CES-D is a 20-item self-rating scale that assesses current levels of depression as per DSM-IV criteria. The traditional score of 16 and above was used to define a case of depression. Results The prevalence of depression according to CES-D scale was 53.8%. The study found that none of the 622 patients ever received definitive treatment for depression. A lower CD4 count is associated with more depressive symptomatology, most significantly in patients with a CD4 count of 50 or less. Conclusions Depressive symptomatology was highly prevalent in the study patients. Despite the high prevalence, none of the study sample patients were treated for clinical depression. The findings reflect the importance of evaluating for depression in PLWHA, especially in high-risk groups such as patients presenting for their initiation visit or patients with a CD4 count of 50 or less. Depression remains under-recognised and under-treated in PLWHA.

中文翻译：

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卡拉丰省三级医院抗逆转录病毒诊所的艾滋病毒感染者和艾滋病患者抑郁症患病率。

背景 与一般人群相比，艾滋病毒感染者和艾滋病患者 (PLWHA) 的抑郁症患病率有所增加。这两种常见疾病的结合会对患者和医疗保健系统产生深远的影响。目的 本研究确定了前往 Kalafong 医院抗逆转录病毒诊所就诊的感染者抑郁症状的患病率。该研究还确定了患者是否接受了单相抑郁症的明确治疗。方法 对 622 名 18 岁或以上的成年患者进行了横断面描述性研究。流行病学研究中心抑郁量表（CES-D）是一种针对抑郁症的简短评级量表，对参与者进行了评估。CES-D 是一个包含 20 个项目的自评量表，根据 DSM-IV 标准评估当前的抑郁水平。传统的评分为 16 分及以上用于定义抑郁症病例。结果CES-D量表抑郁症患病率为53.8%。研究发现，622 名患者中没有一人接受过抑郁症的明确治疗。CD4 计数较低与抑郁症状相关，尤其是在 CD4 计数为 50 或更低的患者中最为显着。结论 抑郁症状在研究患者中非常普遍。尽管患病率很高，但研究样本患者中没有一人接受过临床抑郁症治疗。研究结果反映了评估 PLWHA 抑郁症的重要性，特别是在高危人群中，例如首次就诊的患者或 CD4 计数为 50 或更低的患者。艾滋病毒感染者中的抑郁症仍然未被充分认识和治疗。