Depression and delayed tuberculosis treatment initiation among newly diagnosed patients in Botswana

Bibliographic Data

ID15541631
AuthorsKeneilwe Molebatsi (0000-0003-4741-3278, University of Botswana, corresponding author), Qiao Wang (0000-0003-0648-9399, University of California, Irvine), Mbatshi Dima (Botswana Open University), Ari R Ho-Foster (0000-0001-9817-8090, University of Botswana), Chawangwa Modongo (Botswana Open University), Nicola M Zetola (0000-0003-0712-8579, University of Pennsylvania), Sanghyuk S Shin (0000-0001-9982-4373, University of California, Irvine)
Year2020
Volume16
Issue7
Pages1088-1098
Publication date2020-09-29
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueGlobal Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1744-1692 • E-ISSN: 1744-1706
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/17441692.2020.1826049
PMID32991275
OpenAlexW3089464599
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited37

Comorbidity of tuberculosis (TB) and depression may lead to delayed TB treatment initiation. A cross-sectional study was conducted between January and December 2019 to examine the association between depression and delayed TB treatment initiation among newly diagnosed TB patients in Botswana. We used the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 and the ZUNG self-rating anxiety scale to assess depressive and anxiety symptoms, respectively. Delayed TB treatment was defined as experiencing common TB symptoms for more than 2 months before treatment initiation. We used Poisson regression models with robust variance to assess the association between covariates and delayed treatment initiation. Majority of the enrolled 180 study participants were males (n =116, 64.4%). Overall, 99 (55%) were co-infected with HIV; depression and anxiety symptoms were reported by 47.2% and 38.5% of the participants respectively. The prevalence of delayed TB treatment was 42.6% and 18.8% among participants who indicated symptoms of depression and among participants without depression respectively. After adjusting for age, HIV status, gender and anxiety symptoms, depression was still associated with delayed TB treatment (adjusted prevalence ratio [aPR] = 2.09; 95% CI = 1.23-3.57). Integrating management of depressive symptoms during TB treatment may help in improving overall TB treatment outcomes

Depression (economics · Developing country · Economic growth · Environmental health · Pathology · Tb treatment · Tuberculosis · HIV/AIDS Impact and Responses · Medicine · Mental Health Treatment and Access · Tuberculosis Research and Epidemiology · Pediatrics