Longitudinal analysis of the role of mindfulness on HIV stigma, depression, substance use and HIV outcomes among female sex workers living with HIV in the Dominican Republic.
Yan Wang, Carla J. Berg, Yeycy Donastorg, Martha Perez, Hoisex Gomez, Tahilin Sanchez Karver, Noya Galai, Erica Sibinga, Clare Barrington, Deanna Kerrigan
AIDS Care 2025 DOI: 10.1080/09540121.2024.2437695 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Longitudinal observational study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 240 |
| Population | Female sex workers living with HIV in the Dominican Republic |
| Duration | 2018 to 2021 |
| Topics | Depression Meditation |
| Keywords | Hiv Stigma Substance use |
| Citations | 2 |
| Key findings | Greater mindfulness was associated with lower depression and HIV stigma and higher ART adherence both contemporaneously and over time, and with reduced at-risk alcohol use and higher viral suppression at the same time point. |
Abstract
Female sex workers (FSW) living with HIV experience greater depression and worse HIV outcomes than people living with HIV (PLHIV) overall. Mindfulness is related to lower depression and higher ART adherence in PLHIV. Few studies have assessed these relationships among FSW, especially longitudinally. This study assessed the temporal relationship between mindfulness, mental health and HIV outcomes among FSW from the Dominican Republic (DR). We analyzed data collected between 2018 and 2021 among 240 FSW using mixed modeling to assess contemporaneous relationships and time-lagged relationships between mindfulness and mental health (i.e., depression,HIV stigma, drug and alcohol use ), and HIV outcomes (i.e., ART adherence, viral suppression) , accounting for clustering of repeated measures. Greater mindfulness showed contemporaneous and time-lagged associations with lower depression (contemporaneous: b = -0.57, SE = 0.03, p < 0.001; time-lagged: b = -0.16, SE = 0.05, p < 0.001), lower HIV stigma (contemporaneous: b = -0.11, SE = 0.02, p < 0.001; time-lagged: b = -0.08, SE = 0.03, p = 0.003) and higher ART adherence (contemporaneous: b = 0.03, SE = 0.01, p = 0.003; time-lagged: b = 0.04, SE = 0.01, p = 0.004), and contemporaneous associations with reduced at-risk alcohol use and higher viral suppression (aOR = 0.99, 95% CI = 0.99-1.00, p = 0.003; aOR = 1.01, 95% CI: 1.00-1.01, p = 0.036, separately). Mindfulness instruction is a promising intervention for reducing depression and HIV stigma, and promoting better HIV outcomes among FSW living with HIV, meriting future intervention research in this area.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on depression, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Metacognitive awareness and prevention of relapse in depression: Empirical evidence. Residually depressed patients and nondepressed controls; recovered depressed patients | 2002 | Observational cohort with intervention components | |
| Psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression: fMRI-measured brain mechanisms. Patients with treatment-resistant depression | 2017 | Observational cohort | n = 19 |
| Antidepressant effects of a single dose of ayahuasca in patients with recurrent depression: a preliminary report Patients with a depressive disorder | 2015 | Observational study | |
| Concomitant BDNF and sleep slow wave changes indicate ketamine-induced plasticity in major depressive disorder Patients with treatment-resistant major depressive disorder | 2012 | Observational cohort | n = 30 |
| Altered peripheral immune profiles in treatment-resistant depression: response to ketamine and prediction of treatment outcome Healthy controls and actively depressed patients with treatment-resistant depression... | 2017 | Observational cohort | n = 59 |
Citations in the library
Cites 10
- The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003
- Brief Mindfulness Meditation Improves Emotion Processing Frontiers in Neuroscience October 10, 2019
- Mindfulness instruction for HIV-infected youth: a randomized controlled trial AIDS Care October 25, 2017
- Ultra-Brief Mindfulness Training Reduces Alcohol Consumption in At-Risk Drinkers: A Randomized Double-Blind Active-Controlled Experiment The International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology July 28, 2017
- Exploring the dynamics of ART adherence in the context of a mindfulness instruction intervention among youth living with HIV in Baltimore, Maryland AIDS Care July 1, 2018
and 5 more in the library