The Effect of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Changes of Depressive Symptoms among Thai Adult HIV-Infected Patients

Background: In Thailand, the therapeutic effect of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for depression among adult HIV-infected patients has been limitedly studied. Objectives: To determine the association of CBT and changes of de-pression both immediately post treatment and at 3-month post-treatment. Materials and Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted at the University Hospital in Thailand. Forty and eighty HIV-infected adults who voluntarily re-ceived and did not receive CBT were recruited from the immunology clinic and sexually transmitted diseases clinic be-tween September 2010 and February 2011. Sociodemographic characteristics and medical histories of the participants were collected. A standard Thai Depression Inventory (TDI) was used for evaluation of depressive symptoms. TDI score of 21 or above was interpreted as depression. Other questionnaires included a Montreal Cognitive Assessment questionnaire, standard questionnaire for evaluating life stress event and questionnaire for HIV social support. Results: The mean ages of participants were 44.8 and 43.4 years in the CBT and non-CBT groups respectively. In both group, about half of the subjects were females. Life stress event score in CBT group was significantly higher than the non-CBT group (p < 0.01). At baseline, the mean TDI scores of the CBT group and non-CBT group were 26.7 and 25.3 respec-tively. After adjustment for age, gender, social support, life stress event and current opportunistic infection; the mea