Background: In physically healthy subjects, major depression has been associated with several changes in immune function. In HIV-infected subjects too, lymphocyte subsets changes related to psychological conditions have been described.
Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of major depression on immunological parameters in HIV-infected subjects and to examine the influence of different potency antiretroviral therapies on depression-related immunological changes.
Method: Thirty-six HIV-infected patients with major depression treated with different potency antiretroviral therapies (none, double, triple) were compared with 77 matched non-depressed HIV controls with regard to demographic, clinical and immunological parameters.
Results: The presence of depression was a significant predictor of natural killer (NK) cell number and percentage decline. Antiretroviral therapy and depression-antiretroviral therapy interaction do not significantly influence depression-related NK cell changes.
Conclusions: The study confirms the role of depression in influencing the immune response in HIV-seropositive subjects and suggests that antiretroviral therapies may not be able to hamper the depression-related NK cell changes even using the most potent regimens such as Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART).