Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health and viral suppression among persons living with HIV in western Washington

• Published in: AIDS care 2024-07, Vol.36 (7), p.885-898
• Main Authors: Wang, Liying, Slaughter, Francis, Nguyen, Anh T., Smith, Sarah, Prabhu, Sandeep, Beima-Sofie, Kristin, Wallace, Stephaun, Crane, Heidi M., Simoni, Jane M., Graham, Susan M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adaptation, Psychological; Adult; Anxiety; Anxiety - epidemiology; Anxiety - psychology; Coping; COVID-19; COVID-19 - epidemiology; COVID-19 - psychology; Depression - epidemiology; Depression - psychology; Disease control; Effectiveness; Female; Generalized anxiety disorder; Good health and well-being; Health information; HIV; HIV Infections - epidemiology; HIV Infections - psychology; Human immunodeficiency virus; Humans; Male; Mental depression; Mental Health; Middle Aged; Pandemics; people living with HIV; Polls & surveys; SARS-CoV-2; Self Efficacy; Social anxiety; Social interactions; Social Support; Stress; Stress, Psychological - epidemiology; Stress, Psychological - psychology; Surveys; Surveys and Questionnaires; Viral Load; Washington - epidemiology
• ISSN: 0954-0121; 1360-0451; 1360-0451
• DOI: 10.1080/09540121.2024.2341220

The COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing measures elevated stress levels globally, exacerbating mental health challenges for people with HIV (PWH). We examined the effect of COVID-19-related stress on mental health among PWH in western Washington, exploring whether social support and coping self-efficacy were protective. Data on COVID-19-related stress, mental health, social support, and coping self-efficacy were collected using online surveys during the pandemic. Pre-COVID-19 mental health data were available for a subset of participants and were linked with the survey data. In the total sample (N = 373), COVID-19-stress was associated with elevated depression (PHQ-8, β = 0.21, 95%CI [0.10, 0.32]) and anxiety (GAD-7, β = 0.28, 95%CI [0.17, 0.39]). Among the subset of respondents with pre-pandemic mental health data (N = 103), COVID-19-related stress was associated with elevated PHQ-8 scores (β = 0.35, 95%CI [0.15, 0.56]) and GAD-7 scores (β = 0.35, 95%CI [0.16, 0.54]), adjusted for baseline mental health and other confounders. Coping self-efficacy was negatively associated with GAD-7 scores (β = −0.01, 95%CI [−0.01, 0.00]), while social support was negatively associated with PHQ-8 scores (β = −0.06, 95%CI [−0.12, −0.01]). Viral suppression before and during the pandemic did not differ among participants with available data. While COVID-19-related stress predicted elevated depression and anxiety symptoms among PWH, social support and coping self-efficacy were protective.