Prevalence and correlates of emotional distress in HIV/HCV coinfection

The mental health needs of patients who are coinfected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are increasingly addressed in medical settings. This study aimed at examining the prevalence and severity of emotional distress in a sample of HIV/HCV coinfected and HIV mono-infected patients and to examine their sociodemographic, clinical, and psychosocial correlates. The Brief Symptom Inventory and the quality of life instrument WHOQOL-HIV-Bref were administered to a sample of 248 HIV/HCV coinfected patients and 482 HIV mono-infected patients. Thirty-nine (15.9%) HIV/HCV coinfected patients and 55 (11.6%) HIV mono-infected patients reported a T-score ≥ 63 for global severity index (GSI), indicative of a need for further psychological evaluation. Coinfected patients reported significantly higher scores on eight of nine dimensions of psychopathology. The larger differences were found on somatization, hostility, paranoid ideation, anxiety, and the GSI. Among HIV/HCV patients, non-highly active antiretroviral therapy (β = -0.19, p < 0.01) and lower scores for independence (β = -0.24, p < 0.01) and spiritual (β = -0.31, p < 0.001) dimensions were significantly associated with higher emotional distress and accounted for 47.2% of the total variance. Among HIV mono-infected patients, being diagnosed for a longer time (β = 0.12, p < 0.05) and having lower scores on physical (β = -0.23, p < 0.001), social relationships (β = -0.11, p < 0.05), environmental (β = -0.17, p < 0.01), and spiritual (β = -0.21, p < 0.001) dimensions explained 39.4% of the variance of emotional distress. The findings suggest that coinfection with HCV may have an adverse effect on mental health and underscore the interplay of sociodemographic, clinical, and psychosocial variables on emotional distress. Additionally, these data reinforce the need for tailored interventions to improve the overall well-being of both HIV and HIV/HCV patients.