Exploring HIV status as a mediator in the relationship of psychological distress with socio-demographic and health related factors in South Africa: findings from the 2012 nationally representative population-based household survey

Table 1 Socio-demographic, health and HIV-related characteristics of the study sample (n = 20,083)

Variables	Study sample
	Total	%
Age group (years)
15 to 24	5716	28.5
25 to 49	8573	42.7
50+	5789	28.8
Sex
Male	8503	42.3
Female	11,580	57.7
Race group
African	12,097	60.3
Other	7970	39.7
Marital status
Not married	13,235	66.8
Married	6568	33.2
Educational level
No education/Primary	3663	21.4
Secondary	12,104	70.7
Tertiary	1348	7.9
Employment status
No	11,455	62.6
Yes	6849	37.4
Asset based SES
Low SES	10,856	54.7
High SES	9003	45.3
Locality type
Urban formal	11,080	55.2
Urban informal	2159	10.8
Rural informal	4696	23.4
Rural formal	2148	10.7
Alcohol use AUDIT score
Abstainers	11,466	64.0
Low risk drinkers (1–7)	4759	26.6
High risk drinkers (8–19)	1498	8.4
Hazardous drinkers (20+)	198	1.1
Self-rated health
Fair/poor	4149	20.7
Good/excellent	15,872	79.3
Ever had HIV test
No	7372	36.8
Yes	12,637	63.2
Awareness of HIV status
No	12,045	60.8
Yes	7769	39.2
Self-perceived Risk of HIV infection
No	3995	20.1
Yes	15,896	79.9
Externalised HIV related stigma
No	9606	48.2
Yes	10,312	51.8

SES Socio economic status, AUDIT Alcohol risk score based on a questionnaire for Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test and scores used for categorisation within parentheses. Subtotals do not total (n) due to non-response and/or missing data

ISSN: 1742-6405