Women living with HIV/AIDS: sleep impairment, anxiety and depression symptoms

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate sleep impairment, symptoms of anxiety and depression, and associations with sleep characteristics of sleep in female HIV/AIDS patients. METHOD: 30 female patients with HIV/AIDS were evaluated along with 30 female controls with a mean age of 35.4 years in the study group and 33.1 years in the control group, with: a) the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index; b) the Beck Anxiety Inventory; c) the Beck Depression Inventory. RESULTS: Sleep quality was more impaired in AIDS patients than in those with HIV+ or in controls. The AIDS patients showed more symptoms of anxiety. There were associations of sleep impairment with anxiety in HIV+ patients; whereas in AIDS patients associations were found between sleep impairment and depression. CONCLUSION: There was sleep quality in the presence of symptoms of anxiety and depression. In HIV+ patients, sleep impairment was associated with anxiety, while in AIDS patients sleep impairment was associated with depression.