Does Reducing Alcohol Use Among People with HIV Alleviate Psychological Distress and Symptoms of Depression? A Randomized Controlled Trial in Tshwane, South Africa

• Published in: AIDS and behavior Vol. 28; no. 3; pp. 985 - 992
• Main Authors: Bantjes, Jason, Morojele, Neo K., Myers, Bronwyn, Swanevelder, Sonja, Parry, Charles
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01-03-2024; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Alcohol Drinking - epidemiology; Alcohol Drinking - psychology; Alcohol use; Alcoholic beverages; Alcoholism; Alcoholism - diagnosis; Alcohols; Analysis of covariance; Antiretroviral agents; Antiretroviral therapy; Brief interventions; Clinical trials; Consumption; Depression - complications; Depression - epidemiology; Depression - therapy; Drinking behavior; Epidemiology; Health Psychology; HIV; HIV Infections - complications; HIV Infections - epidemiology; HIV Infections - psychology; Human immunodeficiency virus; Humans; Infectious Diseases; Medical treatment; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Mental depression; Original Paper; PACTR; PACTR201405000815100; Psychological distress; Psychological stress; Public Health; Sexually transmitted diseases; Signs and symptoms; South Africa - epidemiology; STD; Symptoms; South Africa; Depression; South Africa; HIV; Randomised controlled trial; Alcohol use
• ISSN: 1090-7165; 1573-3254
• DOI: 10.1007/s10461-023-04205-x

Although alcohol use is associated with depression, it is unclear if brief alcohol reduction interventions can ameliorate depression and psychological distress among people with HIV (PWH). We use data from a two-arm randomised controlled trial to examine this question. PWH on antiretroviral treatment (ART) were randomly assigned to receive a brief intervention or treatment as usual (n = 622). Screening was done with the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), AUDIT-C, Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression inventory and Kessler Psychological Distress Scale, at baseline and at 3- and 6-months post-baseline. Changes in depression and psychological distress was assessed using analysis of covariance models with baseline measures of alcohol consumption, sex and age included as covariates and adjusting for baseline symptom severity. Changes in alcohol consumption between baseline and follow-up were included in the analysis to establish if this affected outcomes. For both the intervention and control groups, there were significant reductions in symptom severity at 3-months and 6-months for depression and psychological distress, but no significant between group differences were observed. Reductions in alcohol consumption were significantly associated with reductions in depression and psychological distress, supporting the hypothesis that alcohol use is linked to depression among PWH.
Trial Registration
Pan African Clinical Trials Register, PACTR201405000815100.nh