Common Mental Disorders are associated with higher viral load in People Living with HIV

Abstract

The present study aimed to investigate the association between minor psychic disorders and viral load of people living with HIV (PLWHIV) in clinical follow-up. A cross-sectional study was performed with 307 PLWHIV aged ≥ 18 years who were on antiretroviral therapy at the Specialized Care Service of the city of Santos (SP) in 2016. The dependent variable of the study was the quantification of viral load and the independent variable comprised the minor psychic disorders assessed by the Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20). To compare the means of the variables, generalized linear models were performed with significance level of 5%. It was concluded that, regardless of sex of birth, age, time of HIV diagnosis, time of exposure to antiretrovirals and current use of efavirenz, having minor psychiatric disorders increases the viral load of PLWHIV.