IDENTIFYING DEPRESSION AMONG THE HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS (HIV) PATIENTS IN UNIVERSITY MALAYA MEDICAL CENTRE, KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA

Objective: the aim of this study was to identify depression among hiv- infected patients attending infectious disease clinic in university malaya medical centre (ummc). methods: this is a cross sectional study on hiv- infected patients attending infectious disease clinic, ummc. those who fulfilled inclusion criteria were recruited and interviewed. socio- demographic characteristics and clinical conditions such as mode of transmission, year of diagnosis, cd4+ counts, drug treatment and clinical stage were collected. the patients were then subjected to self-administered questionnaires, patient health questionnaire, (phq-9) and hospital anxiety & depression scale (hads). results: 89 patients were recruited. scores from phq9 showed 32% of depression rate while scores from hads showed 19% of depression rate among the respondents. non-self financial supporter, non- alcoholic drinkers and females were more likely to be depressed (p<0.05). all clinical characteristics showed no statistical differences. conclusion: the depression rate was lower compared to those from the studies in western countries. the risk factors for depression were different from those found in other studies as well