Role of treatment for depressive symptoms in relieving the impact of fatigue in HIV-HCV co-infected patients: ANRS Co13 Hepavih, France, 2006-2008

Fatigue is a major component of quality of life (QOL) and is associated with depression in HIV–HCV co‐infected individuals. We investigated whether treating depressive symptoms (DS) could mitigate the impact of fatigue on daily functioning in co‐infected patients, even those at an advanced stage of disease. The analysis was conducted on enrolment data of 328 HIV–HCV co‐infected patients recruited in the French nationwide ANRS CO 13 HEPAVIH cohort. Data collection was based on medical records and self‐administered questionnaires which included items on socio‐behavioural data, the fatigue impact scale (FIS) in three domains (cognitive, physical and social functioning), depressive symptoms (CES‐D classification) and use of treatments for depressive symptoms (TDS). After multiple adjustment for gender and unemployment, CD4 cell count