The Disparities in Mental Health Between Gay and Bisexual Men Following Positive HIV Diagnosis in China: A One-Year Follow-Up Study

Rui Luo, Vincent M.B. Silenzio, Yunxiang Huang, Xi Chen and Dan Luo
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Rui Luo: Department of Social Medicine and Health Management, Xiangya School of Public Health, Central South University, Changsha 410078, Hunan, China
Vincent M.B. Silenzio: Department of Urban-Global Public Health, Rutgers School of Public Health, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ 07102, USA
Yunxiang Huang: Department of Social Medicine and Health Management, Xiangya School of Public Health, Central South University, Changsha 410078, Hunan, China
Xi Chen: Hunan Provincial Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Changsha 410078, Hunan, China
Dan Luo: Department of Social Medicine and Health Management, Xiangya School of Public Health, Central South University, Changsha 410078, Hunan, China

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 10, 1-14

Abstract: This study aimed to determine the change in mental health (depression and anxiety) among HIV-positive gay and bisexual men (GBM) one year after diagnosis and the disparities in trajectories of mental health between them. The potential factors contributing to the disparities were also investigated. This was a one-year follow-up study focusing on the mental health of newly diagnosed HIV-positive individuals. Participants rated their depression, anxiety, stress, and social support levels at baseline and one year later. Information on the utilization of mental healthcare and the initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) after diagnosis was collected at one-year follow-up. A total of 171 and 87 HIV-positive gay and bisexual men, respectively, completed two-time points surveys in this study. The depressive and anxiety symptoms experienced by HIV-positive GBM improvement one year after diagnosis. These improvements tended to be smaller in gay participants. Other factors including mental health care utilization and ART status during the one-year follow-up period, changes in social stress scores and objective social support scores were also associated with the changes in depression and anxiety, and all these factors, except for change in objective support, were found to be statistically different between HIV-positive GBM. Special attention should be given to the mental health of HIV-positive gay men. Promoting HIV-positive gay men to assess to mental health services and ART may be important for these populations to improve mental health. Enhancing social support and reducing stress levels may also be necessary for the vulnerable HIV-positive sexual minority groups.

Keywords: bisexual; gay; HIV/AIDS; depression; anxiety; longitudinal study (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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