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Health Burden, Support Adequacy, and Depressive Symptoms in Older Men With HIV

Aaron M Ogletree1, Mark Brennan-Ing2, Rosemary Blieszner3,4

  • 1American Institutes for Research, Washington, District of Columbia.

The Gerontologist
|December 13, 2018
PubMed

Insights

Older men with HIV experiencing more health issues, like chronic conditions and poor self-rated health, reported higher depression. Emotional support adequacy partially mediated these effects, highlighting its importance for well-being in this population.

Area of Science:

  • Gerontology
  • Public Health
  • Psychology

Background:

  • Older adults with HIV experience a greater health burden compared to their HIV-uninfected peers.
  • Understanding factors that influence psychological well-being in this demographic is crucial.
  • The stress process model provides a framework for examining health burden and psychological outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To assess the influence of multifaceted health burden indicators on depressive symptoms in older men with HIV.
  • To evaluate the mediating effect of social support adequacy on the relationship between health burden and psychological well-being.

Main Methods:

  • Cross-sectional study utilizing structural equation modeling.
  • Data from 640 older men in the Research on Older Adults with HIV study.
  • Health burden assessed by chronic conditions (age-related and HIV-related) and self-rated health; psychological well-being measured by depressive symptoms; social support by perceived adequacy.

Main Results:

  • Increased age-related conditions and poorer self-rated health were significantly linked to higher depressive symptoms.
  • Self-rated health and HIV-related conditions indirectly influenced depressed mood through emotional support adequacy.
  • Distinct pathways from different health burden dimensions to psychological well-being were observed.

Conclusions:

  • Health burden dimensions uniquely impact psychological well-being in older men with HIV, informing care plan prioritization.
  • Nonpharmacological interventions, particularly those enhancing emotional support, may be vital for improving overall well-being in this population.
Abstract

Keywords:
Chronic illnessMultimorbiditySelf-rated healthUnmet need

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