Depression puts South African girls at higher risk of contracting HIV

Depression puts South African girls at higher risk of contracting HIV: By the time they reach adulthood, one in four South African girls will have contracted the HIV virus. Experiencing depression puts these girls at even higher risk of infection, reveals analyses led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, The findings, which appear in the American Journal of Epidemiology, suggest that interventions targeted at improving mental health among adolescent girls may help stem the spread of HIV throughout sub-Saharan Africa.