Depressão, Ansiedade e Estresse em Pessoas que Vivem com HIV Sob a Perspectiva de Gênero e Orientação Sexual: Um Estudo Transversal Brasileiro
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Quase 40 anos após o início da epidemia do HIV e dos notáveis avanços biomédicos que possibilitaram uma boa qualidade de vida e uma alta expectativa de vida, pesquisas em países desenvolvidos indicam uma alta frequência de psicopatologias entre pessoas vivendo com HIV (PVHIV). No entanto, pouco se sabe sobre a saúde mental dessa população em países subdesenvolvidos ou em desenvolvimento, como o Brasil. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a frequência de sintomas de depressão, ansiedade e estresse em pessoas vivendo com HIV, bem como avaliar possíveis diferenças na frequência desses problemas de saúde mental de acordo com o gênero e orientação sexual. Trata-se de um estudo quantitativo transversal, no qual foram avaliadas 91 PVHIV (idade média: 46,82 anos) em um serviço especializado do sistema público de saúde brasileiro. Os dados foram coletados por meio da Escala de Depressão, Ansiedade e Estresse (DASS21) e pela análise de prontuários clínicos. Encontramos uma alta frequência de sintomas de ansiedade (45,16%, IC95%: 34,81-53,83%), estresse (37,89%, IC95%: 28,14-48,43%) e depressão (29,35%, IC95%: 20,31-39,76%) entre as PVHIV avaliadas. Ser gay ou bissexual esteve associado níveis mais elevados de sintomas de depressão e estresse. Não encontramos diferenças de gênero nos indicadores de psicopatologias. Embora a amostra geral tenha apresentado altas taxas de sintomas de depressão, ansiedade e estresse, nossos resultados indicam que ser gay ou bissexual esteve associado a maior gravidade dos problemas de saúde mental em PVHIV brasileiros.
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