Prevalence of depressive syndrome and their association with demographic and clinical characteristics in Chinese HIV patients

To investigate the prevalence of depressive syndrome and their association with demographic and clinical characteristics in Chinese patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). A total of 416 patients with HIV infection were consecutively screened and enrolled in the study. Depressive syndrome was assessed with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D). The proportion of depressive syndrome was 36.3%. Patients with depressive syndrome were younger, and were more likely to have severe anxiety symptoms, religious beliefs and psychological treatment. Multiple logistic regression analyses revealed that religious beliefs (p = 0.001, OR = 3.9, 95% CI = 1.7–8.6) and more severe anxiety symptoms (p = 0.001, OR = 1.6, 95% CI = 1.4–1.7) were independently associated with depressive syndrome. Regular screening for depressive syndrome and appropriate biopsychosocial interventions are urgently needed for this population.