Mental health and cognition in relation to adherence to antiretroviral therapy among people living with HIV in Kazakhstan: a cross‐sectional study

Abstract Introduction There is a research gap in how mental health and cognition are associated with antiretroviral treatment (ART) adherence among people living with HIV (PLWH) in Kazakhstan. Methods We randomly selected and enrolled 230 PLWH from the Almaty City AIDS Center registry (June−November 2019) into a cross‐sectional study. We examined associations between self‐reported ART adherence for the last 1 and 2 weeks; the Adherence Self‐Efficacy Scale (ASES) and symptoms of depression (Patient Health Questionnaire‐9 [PHQ‐9]), anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder tool [GAD‐7]), post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD Checklist [PTSD]); cognitive function (PROMIS v2.0 Adult Cognitive Function 8a short form) and forgetfulness (Forgetfulness Assessment Inventory). We used cut points of ≥5 for at least mild and ≥10 for at least moderate symptom severity for PHQ‐9 and GAD‐7 and of ≥44 for PTSD. Logistic and linear regression analyses were used. Results Participants’ median age was 40.0 (IQR: 34−47) with 40.9% (n = 94) of females in the sample. Those who missed at least one pill for the last 2 weeks had higher odds of reporting at least mild depression (aOR = 3.34, 95% CI: 1.22–9.11, p