PSYCHOPATHOLOGY IN MALE AND FEMALE INTRAVENOUS-DRUG-USERS WITH AND WITHOUT HIV-INFECTION

Objective: The authors report on results of systematic clinical assess ment of psychopathology among HIV-positive and HIV-negative intravenou s drug users. Method: As part of a multidisciplinary baseline assessme nt, 147 male (85 HIV-positive and 62 HIV-negative) and 76 female (39 H IV-positive and 37 HIV-negative) intravenous drug users were evaluated with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R and measures of Psychiatric symptom severity, global functioning, and stress. Results: Prevalence of a diagnosis of current depression (26%) and severity of depressive and anxiety symptoms in both HIV-positive and HIV-negative subjects were greater than in the general community, but not greater than in other studies of intravenous drug users. HIV-positive men had a higher prevalence of depressive disorders than HIV-negative men (33% and 16%, respectively), although this pattern was not found among wom en (26% and 30%). Diagnosis of depressive disorders and severity of de pressive and anxiety symptoms were associated with a symptom-based mea sure of HIV illness stage, but not with indices of immune functioning (CD4+ cell count and CD4+ cell percent). Conclusions: Despite selectiv e associations between HIV illness variables and depression, high rate s of depression across HIV status in this cohort suggest that intraven ous drug use and associated factors are more salient than HIV illness factors in understanding psychopathology in this population.