title: Perceived stress is associated with CD4+ cell decline in men and women living with HIV/AIDS in Spain.
abstract: This study assessed whether perceived stress as measured by the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) was associated with a decline in CD4+ cell counts over a six-month period in 59 men and 41 women living with HIV-1. Participants underwent psychological and medical assessment at the study entry (baseline) and again at six months post-baseline. In a hierarchical regression model controlling for sociodemographic (e.g. age, gender, education, income) and disease-related variables (e.g. duration of antiretroviral treatment, antiretroviral treatment and adherence, CD4+ cell count and viral load), perceived stress was associated with the decline in CD4+ cell count over the six-month period. These findings suggest perceived psychosocial stress is associated with CD4+ cell count decline independent of sociodemographic factors and disease status among men and women on antiretroviral medication for HIV/AIDS.
authors.affiliation: Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain. eduardo.remor@uam.es
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Remor
authors.forename: F J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Penedo
authors.forename: B-J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Schneiderman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D044966:Anti-Retroviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000523:psychology*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013030:Spain; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000209:etiology* / Q000276:immunology; D019562:Viral Load
chemical_list: D044966:Anti-Retroviral Agents