title: Psychopathology and psychosocial adjustment in patients with HIV-associated lipodystrophy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study whether patients with HIV-1 associated lipodystrophy (LD) on highly active antiretroviral treatment (HAART) have more psychopathology and worse psychosocial adjustment than a similar group without this syndrome.
  
  
  METHODS
  In a cross-sectional, observational study we compared 47 HIV-1 infected patients with LD (LD group) with 39 HIV-1 infected patients without LD (non-LD group). All participants were on HAART. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the State and Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and the Goldberg Health Questionnaire (GHQ-60) were administered. Levels of familial, work and social adjustment and adjustment to stressful events were evaluated in a semi-structured interview. Clinical information was extracted from the clinical records.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the univariate analysis patients with LD showed higher state anxiety scores (p=0.009) and worse work adjustment (p=0.019) than those without LD. A total of 45.3% of LD patients scored above the cut-off point on the trait anxiety scale, and over 33.3% scored above the cut-off point on the BDI, GHQ and state anxiety scales. However, in multivariate analyses LD was not independently associated with psychopathology or with worse adjustment in the studied areas.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The finding that LD was not a predictor of greater psychopathology or worse psychosocial adjustment in HIV-1 infected patients, despite the high scores found, suggests that factors not taken into account in this study, such as LD severity and self-perception should have been included in the analysis. Further studies including a greater number of variables and a larger sample size will advance our understanding of this complex condition.
authors.affiliation: Infectious Diseases Unit, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain. abarata@santpau.cat
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Barata
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Malouf
authors.forename: Mar
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gutierrez
authors.forename: Gracia María
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Mateo
authors.forename: Maria Antònia
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Sambeat
authors.forename: Ignasi
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Gich
authors.forename: Josep
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cadafalch
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wulff
authors.forename: Pere
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Domingo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D023241:Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active / Q000523:psychology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D039682:HIV-Associated Lipodystrophy Syndrome / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012917:Social Adjustment; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: HIV; Lypodystrophy; Psychopathology; Psychosocial