The pregnancy factor: the prevalence of depression among women living with HIV enrolled in the African Cohort Study (AFRICOS) by pregnancy status
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Date
2021
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Archives of Women's Mental Health
Abstract
Among Sub-Saharan African women living with HIV (WLWH), pregnancy creates unique stressors that may cause depression.
We describe the prevalence of depression among WLWHenrolled in the African Cohort Study (AFRICOS) by pregnancy status
and describe factors associated with depression. WLWH < 45 years of age underwent six-monthly visits with depression
diagnosed using the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression scale. Visits were categorized as “pregnant;” “postpartum”
(the first visit made after the last pregnancy visit), and “non-pregnant.” The prevalence of depression was calculated for each visit
type and compared using prevalence odds ratios (POR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Logistic regression with generalized
estimating equations was used to evaluate sociodemographic factors associated with depression. From January 2013 toMarch 1,
2020, 1333 WLWH were enrolled, and 214 had pregnancies during follow-up. As compared to the prevalence of depression
during “non-pregnant” visits (9.1%), depression was less common at “pregnant” (6.3%; POR = 0.68 [CI: 0.42, 1.09]) and
“postpartum” (3.4%; POR = 0.36 [CI: 0.17, 0.76]) visits. When controlling for other factors, the visit category was not independently
associated with depression. Visit number, study site, employment status, and food security were independently associated
with decreased odds of depression. We observed a lower prevalence of depression during pregnancy and the postpartum period
than has been previously described amongWLWH during similar time points.We observed protective factors against depression
which highlight the impact that holistic and consistent health care at HIV-centered clinics may have on the well-being ofWLWH
in AFRICOS.
Description
Keywords
HIV, Pregnancy, Depression, Women living with HIV (WLWH), Africa, AFRICOS
Citation
Jones, M. U., Esber, A. L., Dear, N., Bahemana, E., Kibuuka, H., Iroezindu, M., ... & Hickey, P. W. (2021). The pregnancy factor: the prevalence of depression among women living with HIV enrolled in the African cohort study (AFRICOS) by pregnancy status. Archives of Women's Mental Health, 24(4), 649-658. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-021-01117-4