The Syndemic Effect of Injection Drug Use, Intimate Partner Violence, and HIV on Mental Health Among Drug-Involved Women in Kazakhstan

We examined the synergistic effect of substance use (injection drug use), intimate partner violence, and HIV (dubbed the “SAVA syndemic”) on depression and suicidal thoughts among a sample of high-risk women in Kazakhstan, a country with a notably high prevalence of suicide and violence against women and concentrated epidemics of HIV and injection drug use. Using baseline data from an intervention study conducted in Almaty, Kazakhstan among 364 drug-involved couples, multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to examine the relationship between the SAVA syndemic continuum and mental health. Compared to women reporting none of the SAVA conditions, women who experienced the full range of the SAVA syndemic continuum had a 15.5-fold odds (p <.05) of reporting depression and a 6-fold odds (p <.05) in reporting suicidal thought disturbances. Findings suggest the need for integrated screening assessments among practitioners and interventions designed to address multiple, commonly co-occurring conditions in Central Asia.