Physical symptoms and depressive symptoms among individuals with HIV infection

The authors investigate the importance of physical symptoms as a correlate of depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts in a large (N = 881) community-based sample of persons infected with human immunodeficiency virus. The study overcomes limitations of prior research by minimizing overlap in measures of affective and physical symptoms, studying a more diverse population, and including correlates such as measures of social support, function, employment, insurance coverage, and cognitive impairment in the analysis. The authors' data support the notion that in diagnosing depression in the medically ill, concern over isolating physical symptoms as either "affective" or "physical" may be exaggerated.