Background: The prevalence of depression is high among people living with HIV/AIDS. Depression has a significant impact on HIV clinical and immunological progression, treatment response, ability to work, and quality of life. However, mental health services are limited in most Anti-retroviral therapy (ART) clinics especially in developing countries. This is mainly due to a shortage of mental health professional and reluctance of primary health care providers to engage in mental health service provision.

Aim: To assess the proportion and determining factors of depression among individuals with HIV/AIDS in Mecha Demographic Surveillance and Field Research Center, Ethiopia.

Method: The comparative cross-sectional study was conducted among 1,026 randomly selected participants. The proportion of depressive symptoms were compared between samples of the general population and peoples living with HIV/AIDS.  Data were collected by pre-tested interviewer-administered questionnaire. Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) was used to assess the presence of depressive symptoms. Chi-square was used to compare simple frequencies in both groups and P-value was used to show the significance of comparison. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was done to control for confounding. The strength of associations is indicated by Odds Ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval. Variables with P values < 0.05 are considered as statistically significant.

Results: The overall proportion of depression was 13.3%. The proportion was significantly higher in people living with HIV/AIDS (16.6%) as compared to the community sample (9.7%), p = 0.001. Variables significantly associated with depression were older age [Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) = 2.3, 95% CI: 1.1, 5.1], people living with HIV/AIDS [AOR = 1.7, 95% CI: 1.1, 2.6], single marital status [AOR = 1.9, 95% CI: 1.1, 3.5], divorced/widowed [AOR = 2.3, 95% CI: 1.5, 3.5], poor social support [AOR = 3.9, 95% CI: 1.7, 9.8].

Conclusions: The proportion of depressive symptoms were higher in individuals with HIV/AIDS and negatively associated with older age, marital status, and poor social support. It is necessary to include mental health care and screening in the routine HIV/AIDS care.

Keywords: Depression, HIV/AIDS, Ethiopia