BackgroundPublished research on depression among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) from Africa is increasing, but data from Kenya remains scarce. This cross-sectional study measured the prevalence and correlates of depressive symptoms among PLWHA in rural Kilifi, on the Kenyan coast.MethodsBetween February and April 2018, we consecutively recruited and interviewed 450 adults living with HIV and on combination antiretroviral therapy (cART). Depressive symptoms were assessed with the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), with a positive depression screen defined as PHQ-9 score ≥ 10. Measures of psychosocial, health, and treatment characteristics were also administered.ResultsThe overall prevalence of depressive symptoms was 13.8% (95% Confidence Interval (95%CI): 10.9, 17.3). Multivariable logistic regression analysis identified current comorbid chronic illness (adjusted Odds Ratio (aOR) 5.72, 95% CI: 2.28, 14.34; p < 0.001), cART regimen (aOR 6.93, 95%CI: 2.34, 20.49; p < 0.001), perceived HIV-related stigma (aOR 1.10, 95%CI: 1.05, 1.14, p < 0.001) and difficulties accessing HIV care and treatment services (aOR 2.37, 95%CI: 1.14, 4.91; p = 0.02) as correlates of depressive symptoms.ConclusionThe prevalence of depressive symptoms among adults living with HIV on the Kenyan coast is high. Those at high risk for elevated depressive symptoms (e.g., with comorbid chronic illnesses, on second-line cART, experiencing perceived HIV-stigma or with problems accessing HIV care) may benefit from early identification, treatment or referral, which requires integration of mental health programmes into HIV primary care.

Background Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is under-investigated in people living with HIV/AIDS from sub-Saharan Africa. In part, this is due to paucity of culturally appropriate measures for GAD which are psychometrically robust. This study aimed to evaluate the reliability, factorial structure, and validity of Swahili version of the 7-item GAD questionnaire (GAD-7) among adults living with HIV. Study design Descriptive cross-sectional study. Methods 450 adults receiving comprehensive care from an HIV specialized clinic in Kilifi County, coastal Kenya, were consecutively recruited. Swahili versions of GAD-7, Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and a 12-item HIV stigma scale were administered alongside measures of psychosocial and health-related characteristics. Internal consistency, test–retest reliability, factorial structure, convergent validity, and discriminant validity of Swahili GAD-7 were examined using Cronbach’s alpha (α), intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC), Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), Pearson’s correlation, and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), respectively. Results Internal consistency of Swahili GAD-7 was good, α = 0.82 (95% CI 0.78, 0.85). Its test–retest reliability (2 weeks apart) was acceptable, ICC = 0.70 (95% CI 0.55, 0.81). A confirmatory analysis of a one-factor solution indicated an excellent fit to the hypothesized structure (RMSEA = 0.00 [95% confidence interval 0.00, 0.05], CFI = 1.00, TLI = 1.00). Multi-group CFA substantiated factorial invariance for sex and age for the one-factor structure of Swahili GAD-7. Scores of GAD-7, Swahili version, significantly correlated with those of PHQ-9 (r = 0.73; p < 0.001) and the HIV stigma scale (r = 0.36; p < 0.001) suggesting good convergent validity. Statistically significant differences were observed between participants on first-line antiretroviral therapy compared to those on second-line treatment (F [1, 441] = 5.55, p = 0.02) indicative of good discriminant validity of Swahili GAD-7. Conclusion GAD-7 Swahili version retained its original unidimensional latent structure with good psychometric properties among adults living with HIV from Kilifi, Kenya. It can be used to identify symptoms of GAD in similar research settings. However, to confidently identify those in need of mental health treatment or referral services in HIV primary care clinics, more research on the validity of Swahili GAD-7 is needed especially its discriminant validity and diagnostic accuracy at different cut-off scores.

Highlights Comparison of tool psychometrics between HIV-infected adults and community controls Internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the adapted Swahili PHQ-9 is good Swahili PHQ-9 is unidimensional overall, in HIV-infected adults and community sample Swahili PHQ-9 is invariant across group (HIV-infected vs controls), sex and age-group Swahili PHQ-9 exhibited good discriminant validity between the two participant groups

ObjectivesOur aim was to compare the neurocognitive performance and mental health outcome of adults living with HIV on antiretroviral therapy with that of community controls, all of low literacy. Furthermore, we also wanted to explore the relationship of these outcomes with quality of life among adults living with HIV.Study designThis was a descriptive cross-sectional study.SettingThe study was conducted in Kilifi County, a region located at the Kenyan coast.ParticipantsThe participants consisted of a consecutive sample of 84 adults living with HIV and 83 randomly selected community controls all with ≤8 years of schooling. All participants were assessed for non-verbal intelligence, verbal working memory and executive functioning. The Major Depression Inventory and a quality of life measure (RAND SF-36) were also administered.ResultsUsing analysis of covariance, we found no statistically significant group differences between adults living with HIV and community controls in all the neurocognitive tests except for a marginal difference in the non-verbal intelligence test (F (1, 158)=3.83, p=0.05). However, depressive scores of adults living with HIV were significantly higher than those of controls (F (1, 158)=11.56, p<0.01). Also, quality of life scores of adults living with HIV were significantly lower than those of controls (F (1, 158)=4.62, p=0.03). For the HIV-infected group, results from multivariable linear regression analysis showed that increasing depressive scores were significantly associated with poorer quality of life (β=−1.17, 95% CI −1.55 to –0.80; p<0.01).ConclusionOur findings suggest that adults of low-literacy levels living with HIV and on antiretroviral medication at the Kenyan coast do not have significant cognitive deficits compared with their uninfected counterparts. However, their mental health, compared with that of HIV-uninfected adults, remains poorer and their quality of life may deteriorate when HIV and depressive symptoms co-occur.

ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the World Health Organization’s five item well-being index (WHO-5) when administered to adults living with HIV or epilepsy in a rural setting at the coast of Kenya.MethodsA case control study design was conducted among 230 adults aged 18–50 years, who comprised 147 cases (63 living with epilepsy and 84 living with HIV) and 83 healthy controls. The participants were administered to a face-to-face interview during which they completed the Swahili version of WHO-5 well-being index, the Major Depression Inventory (MDI) and responded to some items on their socio-demographic characteristics. Analysis to assess internal consistency, construct validity, discriminant validity, and convergent validity of the Swahili version of WHO-5 well-being index was conducted. A multivariate regression was carried out to assess the association between psychological wellbeing (assessed using Swahili version of WHO-5 well-being index) and having a chronic illness (HIV or epilepsy).ResultsThe Swahili version of WHO-5 well-being index demonstrated good internal consistency with Cronbach alpha ranges of 0.86–0.88 among the three study groups. The tool had good discriminant validity. A one factor structure of the tool was obtained from confirmatory factor analysis (overall Comparative Fit Index = 1.00, Tuckler Lewis Index = 1.01, Root Mean Square of Error Approximation = 0.00). Living with HIV or epilepsy in comparison to being a healthy control was significantly associated with greater odds of having sub-optimal psychological wellbeing.ConclusionOur findings demonstrate that the Swahili version of WHO-5 well-being index has good psychometric properties and is appropriate for use to evaluate psychological well-being among adults living with chronic conditions such as HIV or epilepsy from a rural low resource setting in Kenya. Given its brevity and ease of use, the Swahili version of WHO-5 well-being index could potentially be used by lay workers and other paraprofessional to monitor psychological well-being among chronically ill adults in resource poor settings.