Alcohol use, depressive symptoms and the receipt of antiretroviral therapy in southwest Uganda.
Alcohol use and depressive symptoms are associated with reduced access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) in the developed world. Whether alcohol use and depressive symptoms limit access to ART in resource-limited settings is unknown. This cross-sectional study examined the association between alcohol use, depressive symptoms and the receipt of ART among randomly selected HIV-positive persons presenting for primary health care services at an outpatient HIV clinic in Uganda. Depressive symptoms were defined by the Hopkins Symptom Checklist and alcohol use was measured through frequency of consumption questions. Antiretroviral use was assessed using a standardized survey and confirmed by medical record review. Predictors of ART use were determined via logistic regression. Among 421 HIV-infected patients, factors associated with the receipt of ART were having at least primary education, having an opportunistic infection in the last 3 months, and not drinking within the last year.
Martinez
Priscilla
P
Section for International Health, Department of General Practice and Community Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo 0407, Norway. priscilla.martinez@medisin.uio.no
Andia
Irene
I
Emenyonu
Nneka
N
Hahn
Judith A
JA
Hauff
Edvard
E
Pepper
Larry
L
Bangsberg
David R
DR
D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D019380:Anti-HIV Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D010044:Outpatient Clinics, Hospital; D015995:Prevalence; D014454:Uganda
D019380:Anti-HIV Agents