Prevalence and Associated Factors of Depression among PLHIV in Ethiopia: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis, 2017

Depression is a substantial contributor to the global burden of disease and affects people in all communities across the globe. Depression is the most common psychiatric problem associated with HIV/AIDS and half of all PLWHIV with depression go underdiagnosed and untreated. Psychiatric complications of HIVAIDS delay mental health services in less affluent countries. However, there is lack of study with regard to the pooled estimation prevalence of depression in PLWHIV in Ethiopia.

The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to summarize the most current available evidence from 2010 to March 2017 among adult PLWHIV in Ethiopia.

The team explored multiple databases searching methods including MEDLINE/PubMed, PsycINFO, Google Advance Scholar, and Google Scholar to find studies published with the data on the prevalence of depression among PLWHIV. We searched 150 research articles; of these 143 articles were excluded. Subsequently, thirteen articles were used for synthesis prevalence and four studies were included in the synthesis effect of sex on depression among PLWHIV.

The total of pooled estimated prevalence of depression in PLWHIV was 36.65. Estimated prevalence of depression in three studies by using CES-D was 31.19% and in six studies by using PHQ-9 was 37.91%. The remaining four studies used a single tool: Kessler-6 Scale (15.5%), HADS (41.2%), HDSQ (43.9%), and BDI (55.8%). Factors such as age, marital status, living alone, poor medication adherence, poor social support, clinical stages II and III of HIV, stigma, income, and occupation were significantly associated with depression.

The pooled estimate prevalence of depression among PLWHIV was higher than that in the general population. It is better to offer special attention to these populations.