HIV Symptom Distress and Anxiety Sensitivity in Relation to Panic, Social Anxiety, and Depression Symptoms Among HIV-Positive Adults

Abstract

Although past work has documented relations between HIV/AIDS and negative affective symptoms and disorders, empirical work has only just begun to address explanatory processes that may underlie these associations. The current investigation sought to test the main and interactive effects of HIV symptom distress and anxiety sensitivity in relation to symptoms of panic disorder (PD), social anxiety disorder (SA), and depression among people with HIV/AIDS. Participants were 164 adults with HIV/AIDS (17.1% women; mean age, 48.40) recruited from AIDS service organizations (ASOs) in Vermont/New Hampshire and New York City. The sample identified as 40.9% white/Caucasian, 31.1% black, 22.0% Hispanic, and 6.1% mixed/other; with more than half (56.7%) reporting an annual income less than or equal to $10,000. Both men and women reported unprotected sex with men as the primary route of HIV transmission (64.4% and 50%, respectively). HIV symptom distress and anxiety sensitivity (AS) were significantly positively related to PD, SA, and depression symptoms. As predicted, there was a significant interaction between HIV symptom distress and anxiety sensitivity in terms of PD and SA symptoms, but not depressive symptoms. Results suggest that anxiety sensitivity and HIV symptom distress are clinically relevant factors to consider in terms of anxiety and depression among people living with HIV/AIDS. It may be important to evaluate these factors among patients with HIV/AIDS to identify individuals who may be at a particularly high risk for anxiety and depression problems. Limitations included recruitment from ASOs, cross-sectional self-report data, and lack of a clinical diagnostic assessment.

Examining Associations Between Cognitive-Affective Vulnerability and HIV Symptom Severity, Perceived Barriers to Treatment Adherence, and Viral Load Among HIV-Positive Adults

“…These findings suggest that HIV+ individuals who report greater sensitivity to anxiety and its potential consequences are at heightened risk for more severe HIV symptoms. This finding is consistent with previous work suggesting that HIV+ individuals high in AS report greater somatic distress, which may broadly overlap with HIV symptoms [32,33].…”

“…Relevant work indicates that, among HIV+ individuals, higher levels of AS are correlated with greater somatization symptoms, as well as elevated symptoms of anxiety, depression, and suicidality [32][33][34]. With regard to DT, a recent longitudinal study of HIV+ individuals indicated that both lower DT and greater past 6-month life events (excluding health-related events) independently and interactively predicted elevations in symptoms of depression, cocaine use, and medication adherence, suggesting that vulnerability to distress exacerbates the impact of life events on these outcomes [35].…”

Anxiety, depression, and HIV symptoms among persons living with HIV/AIDS: the role of hazardous drinking

“…Yet, it is unclear whether hazardous drinking among PLWHA is related to elevated anxiety/depressive symptoms or HIV-SD. Moreover, because other cognitive-affective vulnerability factors (Brandt, Gonzalez, Grover, & Zvolensky, 2013;Brandt, Zvolensky, & Bonn-Miller, 2013;Gonzalez, Zvolensky, Parent, Grover, & Hickey, 2012) have been linked to substance use problems and anxiety/ depressive disorders as well as HIV-SD among PLWHA, it is important to establish the clinical significance of hazardous drinking by virtue of its incremental predictive validity relative to these factors.…”

Anxiety and depressive symptoms among patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus in South Korea

“…Moreover, the association between persistent symptoms for more than one week, anxiety, and depressive symptoms (Ammassari et al, 2004;Gonzalez, Zvolensky, Parent, Grover, & Hickey, 2012;Lyketsos et al, 1996;Ostrow et al, 1989;Perkins et al, 1995) indicates the possibility that HIV-related symptoms and subsequent distress may cause anxiety and depressive symptoms (Gonzalez et al, 2012). Of the cognitive, emotional, motivational, and physical symptoms that indicate depression, European patients mostly express emotional symptoms, whereas Asian patients, including those in Korea, are known to more frequently demonstrate physical symptoms such as headache and indigestion (Lee et al, 2009;Novick et al, 2013).…”