title: Psychosocial correlates of human immunodeficiency virus infected patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Reactions of people to a diagnosis of HIV and its effect on well-being vary greatly. There is paucity of Indian studies in this area.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess the level of anxiety, depression and quality of life in HIV seropositive individuals.
  
  
  METHODS
  It was a descriptive cross-sectional study with a sample size of 50 seropositive individuals. They were assessed using a specially prepared proforma containing several questions pertaining to their demographic profile, details of HIV status and high-risk behavior, questions on family support and discrimination. In addition, all subjects were evaluated with WHO well-being index, General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), and Hospital Anxiety, and Depression Scale.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Anxiety was noted in 54% of the individuals whereas only 30% suffered from depression. GHQ showed psychological morbidity in 44% individuals. WHO well-being index noted poor psychological well-being in 46% of individuals.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The high level of anxiety and depression in HIV seropositive subjects reiterates the importance of psychological counseling in HIV afflicted individuals in conjunction with suitable pharmacotherapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, AFMC, Pune, India.
authors.forename: Megha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Agrawal
authors.forename: Kalpana
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Srivastava
authors.forename: Sunil
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Goyal
authors.forename: Suprakash
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chaudhury
keywords: Anxiety; depression; human immunodeficiency virus; psychological well-being; psychosocial correlates