Depressive Disorders in HIV/AIDS: A Clinically Focused Narrative Review

Learning objectives After participating in this activity, learners should be better able to: • Assess strategies for diagnosing depressive disorders in patients with human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) • Identify factors that contribute to the development of depressive disorders in HIV/AIDS • Evaluate strategies for managing depressive disorders in HIV/AIDS Depressive disorders and human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) are associated with major socioeconomic burdens. The negative impact of depressive disorders on HIV/AIDS is well known, including on treatment outcomes. Unfortunately, depressive disorders are underdiagnosed and undertreated in seropositive persons. This review summarizes clinically useful information on depressive disorders in HIV/AIDS. More specifically, we address assessment, differential diagnosis, contributing factors, management, and common challenges in the treatment of depressive disorders in seropositive individuals. Assessment and diagnosis of depression may be challenging in seropositive persons because of several biopsychosocial particularities associated with HIV/AIDS. One of the difficulties is the overlap between depression and HIV/AIDS symptoms, particularly in individuals with advanced AIDS, requiring consideration of a broad differential diagnosis. Several factors related to HIV/AIDS status contribute to the higher rates of depressive disorders, including i...
Source: Harvard Review of Psychiatry - Category: Psychiatry Tags: Review Source Type: research