It has been suggested that women experience depression most commonly in the childbearing years and that reproductive events such as pregnancy and child birth may coincide with the onset of mood and anxiety disorders in women. Therefore, a brief screening tool, with good sensitivity/specificity for psychiatric diagnoses that could be administered to pregnant women would be a valuable and useful proxy measure. We assessed the validity of the K-10, using the SCID as the gold standard, in a sample of 129 healthy pregnant women who presented for care at midwife obstetric units in Cape Town, South Africa. A receiver-operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis indicated that the K-10 showed agreeable sensitivity and specificity in detecting depression (area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve, 0.66), posttraumatic stress disorder (0.69), panic disorder (0.71), and social phobia (0.76). The K-10 may be a useful screening measure for mood and anxiety disorders in pregnant women.

It has been suggested that an HIV diagnosis may increase the likelihood of mental disorders among infected individuals and that the progression of HIV may be hastened by mental disorders like anxiety and depression. Therefore, a brief screening measure, with good sensitivity/specificity for psychiatric diagnoses that could be given to HIV-infected individuals would be useful. We assessed the validity of the K-10, using the MINI International Neuropsychiatric Interview as the gold standard, in a sample of 429 HIV-infected adults enrolled in HIV care and treatment services near Cape Town, South Africa. There was significant agreement between the K-10 and the MINI-defined depressive and anxiety disorders. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis indicated that the K-10 showed agreeable sensitivity and specificity in detecting depression (area under the ROC curve, 0.77), generalized anxiety disorder (0.78), and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (0.77). The K-10 may be a useful screening measure for detecting mood and anxiety disorders, including PTSD, in patients with HIV/AIDS.

ObjectivesThe present study sought to assess the relationship between depressive symptomatology and resilience among women infected with HIV and to investigate whether trauma exposure (childhood trauma, other discrete lifetime traumatic events) or the presence of post-traumatic stress symptomatology mediated this relationship.DesignCross-sectional study.SettingWestern Cape, South Africa.ParticipantsA convenience sample of 95 women infected with HIV in peri-urban communities in the Western Cape, South Africa. All women had exposure to moderate-to-severe childhood trauma as determined by the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire.Primary and secondary outcome measuresWe examined the relationship between depressive symptomatology and resilience (the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale) and investigated whether trauma exposure or the presence of post-traumatic stress symptomatology mediated this relationship through the Sobel test for mediation and PLS path analysis.ResultsThere was a significant negative correlation between depressive symptomatology and resilience (p=<0.01). PLS path analysis revealed a significant direct effect between depression and resilience. On the Sobel test for mediation, distal (childhood trauma) and proximal traumatic events did not significantly mediate this association (p=> 0.05). However, post-traumatic stress symptomatology significantly mediated the relationship between depression and resilience in trauma-exposed women living with HIV.ConclusionsIn the present study, higher levels of resilience were associated with lower levels of self-reported depression. Although causal inferences are not possible, this suggests that in this sample, resilience may act as protective factor against the development of clinical depression. The results also indicate that post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), which are highly prevalent in HIV-infected and trauma exposed individuals and often comorbid with depression, may further explain and account for this relationship. Further investigation is required to determine whether early identification and treatment of PTSS in this population may ameliorate the onset and persistence of major depression.

Introduction HIV is frequently associated with deficits in brain function, including memory, psychomotor speed, executive function, and attention. Early life stress (ELS) has also been shown to have a direct influence on neurocognitive performance. However, little is known about the combined impact of ELS and HIV on neurocognitive function over time. The aim of the present study was to follow a cohort of affected women, allowing us to assess the effects of HIV and childhood trauma on cognition and the change in cognition over time. Method A battery of neurocognitive tests was administered to 117 women at baseline and then a year later. The sample included a total of 67 HIV+ and 50 HIV− women, 71 with ELS and 46 without ELS. Controlling for age, education and antiretroviral therapy (ART) at baseline and 12-month follow-up, raw scores were compared across groups using a repeated measures Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). Results More women were on ART at follow-up compared to baseline. Results revealed a significant combined HIV and childhood trauma effect over time on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (p = 0.003) and Category Fluency Test (p = 0.006). A significant individual HIV effect over time was evident on the WAIS-III Digit Symbol Test (p = 0.03) and the Controlled Oral Word Association Test (p = 0.003). Conclusion Findings suggest better performance in abstract reasoning, speed of information processing and verbal fluency over time. While all groups showed improvements that may correspond to practice effects, effects of HIV and childhood trauma remained evident at 12-month follow-up despite greater ART uptake and improved HIV disease status. This is the first study to assess the combined impact of HIV and trauma on neurocognitive function over time in an all-female cohort with more advanced disease.

Objectives The study investigated the behavioral and brain effects of childhood trauma and HIV-infection, both separately and in combination, and assessed potential interactions in women who were dually affected. Methods 83 HIV-positive and 47 matched HIV-negative South African women underwent neuromedical, neuropsychiatric and neurocognitive assessments. Univariate tests of significance assessed if either HIV infection or childhood trauma, or the combination, had a significant effect on neurocognitive performance. Results The majority of women were Black (96%) and had an average age of 30. An analysis of covariance revealed significant HIV effects for the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test (HVLT) learning and delay trials (p < .01) and the Halstead Category test (p < .05). A significant trauma effect was seen on the HVLT delay trial (p < .05). Conclusion The results provide evidence for neurocognitive dysfunction in memory and executive functions in HIV-infected women and memory disturbances in trauma exposed women.

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A wide spectrum of neurocognitive deficits characterise HIV infection in adults. HIV infection is additionally associated with morphological brain abnormalities affecting neural substrates that subserve neurocognitive function. Early life stress (ELS) also has a direct influence on brain morphology. However, the combined impact of ELS and HIV on brain structure and neurocognitive function has not been examined in an all-female sample with advanced HIV disease. The present study examined the effects of HIV and childhood trauma on brain morphometry and neurocognitive function. Structural data were acquired using a 3T Magnetom MRI scanner and a battery of neurocognitive tests was administered to 124 women; HIV positive with ELS (n = 32), HIV positive without ELS (n = 30), HIV negative with ELS (n = 31), HIV negative without ELS (n = 31). Results revealed significant group volumetric differences for right anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), bilateral hippocampi, corpus callosum, left and right caudate, and left and right putamen. Mean regional volumes were lowest in HIV positive women with ELS compared to all other groups. Although causality cannot be inferred, findings also suggest that alterations in the left frontal lobe, right ACC, left hippocampus, corpus callosum, left and right amygdala, and left caudate may be associated with poorer neurocognitive performance in the domains of processing speed, attention/working memory, abstraction/executive functions, motor skills, learning, and language/fluency with these effects more pronounced in women living with both HIV and childhood trauma. This study highlights the potential contributory role of childhood trauma to brain alterations and neurocognitive decline in HIV infected individuals.