Stigma, Anxiety, Depression, and Quality of Life Among Patients With Hepatitis C in Iran

Hepatitis C is one of the most challenging viral infections worldwide. Patients with hepatitis C may experience some disease-related stigma.

The aim of this study was to evaluate perceived stigma and its role in predicting anxiety, depression, and quality of life among patients with hepatitis C.

This cross-sectional analytic study was conducted in behavioral counseling centers of three cities, i.e., Khorramabad, Boroujerd and Noorabad, located in the western part of Iran, from May to August 2019. Stratified multistage sampling was used to select 144 patients diagnosed with hepatitis C. The WHOQOL-BREF Scale, Stigma Impact Scale (SIS), Beck Depression Inventory, Second Edition (BDI-II), and Beck Anxiety Inventory, Second Edition (BAI) were used to collect the data. Univariate and multivariate linear regression models were used to estimate the association of covariates on stigma and quality of life. The Stata 16 software was used to analyze the data at the significance level of 0.05.

The mean perceived stigma was 66.805 ± 1.291 with social rejection and social isolation achieving the highest scores (23.409 ± 0.551, 20.208 ± 0.437). In the multivariate regression model, depression (B=0.7, 95%; CI: 0.5, 0.89) and anxiety (B=0.21, 95%; CI: 0.02, 0.41) had direct significant associations with stigma independent of age, sex, marital status, and occupation. Depression (B=-0.27, 95%; CI:-0.47, -0.07), anxiety (B=-0.33, 95%; CI: -0.5, -0.16), and stigma (B=-0.41, 95%; CI: -0.56, -0.26) were inversely associated with patients’ quality of life.

This study found a high perceived stigma score among HCV patients. Depression and anxiety were significantly associated with stigma. The quality of life of HCV patients were inversely associated with depression, anxiety, and stigma scores.