Antidepressants and Labor Market Outcomes of Persons Living with HIV

The work examines the effect of antidepressants on the employment of HIV-positive persons receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). It uses U.S. panel data (1996-2004) from the Women’s Inter­agency HIV Study (WIHS) and the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS). Regression models of employment control for: demographic characteristics clinical indicators physical and mental health summary measures and local area characteristics. Instrumental variables help identify antidepressant use. The results show that antidepressant use has a positive effect on the employment probability of women living with HIV. Among women receiving HAART and controlling for individual and local area labor market characteristics use of antidepressants is associated with a higher probability of being employed. On the other hand we cannot find a positive effect of antidepressant use on employment for the participants in the MACS. Increasing efforts to improve screening diagnosis and treatment of depression in specific high-risk HIV positive populations particularly low-income women is warranted.