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چکیده
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called Anti-Retroviral Treatment (ART). These types of medications are too expensive, but free of charge at behavioral diseases counselling centers. According to the existing data, about 44% of the people who are affected by HIV also have a history of substance abuse, and 25% of those who have been diagnosed with HIV also are injection drug users. Moreover, a depression prevalence rate of 37% has been found among those with HIV+ (Safren et al., 2009). Depression among those affected by HIV and having a history of injected substance abuse is common. Many studies show that the prevalence of major depression disorder among HIV infected people under Methadone Maintenance Treatment (MMT) is more than 36% (Turrina, Fiorazzo, Easyam, Regini, Camtly et al., 2001). The combination of depression and substance abuse is making a complicated situation for adherence to medication and medical appointments. Palepu et al. (2006) studied the relationship between MMT and Adherence to ART in a group with HCV and HIV, who were also injected substance abuser, taking ART. As a result, their participation in MMT resulted with a reduction in heroin use, increased adherence, and improved immune system. On the other hand, people who were not substance abusers, but became heavy substance abusers, having a weakened CD4, RNA suppression in HIV virus, and lower adherence (Lucas, Gabo, Chaisson, and Moore, 2002). In this regard, taking into account the depression and adherence of HIV+ addicts in studying their psychological and physical health is worth considering. Methods : Among patients registered at a behavioral diseases counseling center as HIV+ addicts under ART and MMT, a convenience sample of 26 patients was selected. All participants filled out Beck Depression Inventory (BDI; Beck, 1990), Centre for Epidemiology Scale (CES; 1999) for depression, and adherence to medication and medical appointments scale (similar to Safren et al., 2007). Bloods CD4 count also was measured for each patient.
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