Project Summary
Half of those living with HIV in the United States are over 50 years of age. As people living with
HIV (PWH) live longer with the disease, the tradeoff is that they live with multiple comorbidities.
One of the more common comorbidities is depression. There is a need to find innovative and
accessible nonpharmacological interventions that can help older people living with HIV/AIDS to
manage depressive symptoms that may also affect their treatment outcomes. Tai chi/Qigong
(TCQ) is a series of slow, low-impact meditative movements that integrate breath work,
meditation, and stances; and may improve depressive symptoms. We propose testing the
efficacy of a remotely delivered standardized TCQ intervention that has shown to be acceptable
and feasible with a population of older people living with HIV/AIDS. Thus, this study proposes
three aims: (i) to determine whether a remotely delivered TCQ intervention is directly efficacious
in improving depressive symptoms compared to a health education control group among older
PWH (50 years of age or older); (ii) to determine whether a remotely delivered TCQ intervention
indirectly improves depressive symptoms via biological, psychological, and behavioral
mechanisms compared to a health education control group among older PWH and (iii) to
determine whether the direct and indirect associations between a TCQ intervention and
depressive symptoms is moderated by gender among older PWH. Participants (n=326) will be
recruited using social media sites (e.g., WebMD, google, Facebook) throughout the United
States, and from at least two contact registries of older PWH. For the registries, research staff
will contact participants via phone. All assessments will be conducted via Zoom
videoconferencing or phone. Participants will be randomized to 1 of 2 conditions: the TCQ
intervention, or a health education control group condition. Both the TCQ and the health
education control condition will be delivered via Zoom to participants in the form of live,
synchronous classes. We will assess the efficacy of TCQ by looking at instruments that
measure depression; and potential mechanisms such as sleep, fatigue, emotional regulation,
and heart variability at baseline, 3-month, and 9-month post-intervention. Blood will also be
collected via Quest Diagnostics at baseline and at 9-month to collect viral load and an
inflammatory marker (C-reactive protein). Data will be described using descriptive techniques.
Efficacy of the TCQ treatment will be evaluated using a random effects analysis of covariance
(ANCOVA) model. We will follow the Baron & Kenny’s method for mediation analysis to assess
if the effect of TCQ intervention on depressive symptoms is mediated by biological (heart
variability, using HF power values expected to increase), psychological (emotional regulation,
anxiety, stress), and behavioral (fatigue, sleep) variables.
