14% of Ugandans living with HIV/AIDs are depressed - new study

The study also revealed that Masaka district topped all districts in Uganda with such communities.

An excessive amount of melancholy, loss of interest in formerly enjoyable activities, poor focus, and loss of appetite are some of the symptoms of depression, a mental disease.

Out of the 500 people who participated in the study in the districts of Wakiso, Masaka, and Mpigi, 19.4% from Masaka were depressed, compared to 8% in Entebbe, according to Prof. Eugene Kinyanda, head of the mental health focus at the Medical Research Council Unit in Uganda.

Kinyanda said the study also showed a link between depression and accelerated HIV disease progression as well as poor antiretroviral medication adherence in HIV/AIDS patients.

The executive director of the Uganda Virus Research Institute, Prof. Pontiano Kaleebu, stressed the necessity of integrating mental health treatment-related services in HIV/AIDS care centres while officiating at the presentation of the study's findings.

According to Prof. Kaleebu, "We hope the results will improve our management of depression not only in Uganda but also in other African nations where management of mental health is really lagging."

According to the Ministry of Health, an estimated 1.5 million known people in Uganda are HIV/AIDS positive and on treatment.

Results from the 2020 Uganda Population-based HIV Impact Assessment (UPHIA) show that 5.5% of Ugandan adults between the ages of 15 and 49 have HIV.

The 2020 study was carried out to determine HIV incidence, HIV prevalence, viral load suppression, and other significant indicators for HIV/AIDS programmes. A sample of houses that are representative of the Ugandan population was used to gather data across the entire nation.

The survey was carried out between February and March of 2020, was interrupted because of COVID-19 mitigation efforts, restarted in October of that year, and ended in February of the following year.