Co-infection with HIV associated with reduced vulnerability to symptoms of depression during antiviral treatment for hepatitis C

• Autor(a) principal: Fialho, Renata
• Data de Publicação: 2017
• Outros Autores: Pereira, Marco, Harrison, Neil, Rusted, Jennifer, Whale, Richard
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10316/47395; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2017.03.049
• topic: Adult; Antiviral Agents; Coinfection; Depressive Disorder, Major; Drug Therapy, Combination; Female; HIV Infections; Hepacivirus; Hepatitis C; Humans; Interferon-alpha; Male; Middle Aged; Prospective Studies; Ribavirin

In this prospective study, we examined new-onset major depressive disorder (MDD) and the differential expression of depressive symptoms in a sample of 132 HCV mono-infected and 40 HIV/HCV co-infected patients initiating pegylated interferon-based treatment, including protease inhibitor therapy. The semi-structured clinical interview (SCID-I) was used to assess MDD. Severity of depressive symptoms was assessed using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. Of the total sample, 60 patients (34.9%) developed SCID-I defined MDD during antiviral treatment. The proportion of HCV mono- and HIV/HCV patients developing MDD during treatment was not significantly different (37.9% vs. 25%; p=0.185). In both groups, there was a significant increase in HAMD total score from baseline to week 4, and a significant decrease between week 24 and 6 months post-treatment cessation. The greatest increase was observed in the symptoms of the neurovegetative syndrome. HCV mono-infected patients reported higher scores than co-infected patients, particularly impaired activity and somatic symptoms, but the differences were only significant at week 12. The finding that co-infected patients appear less vulnerable to the development of depressive symptoms during HCV treatment than HCV mono-infected patients warrants further exploration, including a thorough analysis of the biological and psychosocial factors associated with this emergence.