Exploring psychological symptom associations among people living with HIV using an apriori algorithm

BACKGROUND: Although antiretroviral therapy has extended the lifespan of people living with HIV (PLWH), psychological symptoms are still prevalent. Given the complexity of psychological symptoms, effective interventions need to consider the interactions and associations of symptoms. AIM: To explore psychological symptom association rule mining through Apriori algorithm analysis among PLWH in China. METHODS: This study was based on cross-sectional, multi-center, large sample data. From April 2022 to April 2023, we recruited 3040 participants with confirmed HIV-1 infections from six HIV sentinel hospitals in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Nanning, Kunming, Baoshan and Jiaxing of China through convenience sampling to assess their psychological symptoms. The Apriori algorithm was employed to analyze the association rules among psychological symptoms in PLWH. RESULTS: 26 of the 40 psychological symptoms entered into the association rules. We selected the top 126 association rules based on confidence. By visualizing the arrow directions of these association rules, three gradients were identified. Of the 40 symptoms, “ forgetting things that occurred recently ” and “ nervousness ” was the first gradient. LIMITATIONS: The cross-sectional design can only describe the co-occurrence of psychological symptoms, lacking causal insights and needing longitudinal data. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings highlight the interconnected nature of psychological symptoms among PLWH and underscore the need for prioritized, network-based interventions. CLINICAL TRIAL: Clinical trial number: not applicable.