Changes health-related quality of life in HIV-infected patients following initiation of antiretroviral therapy: a longitudinal study.

BACKGROUND: Several tools have been developed to evaluate HIV health-related quality of life (HRQoL) during and after antiretroviral therapy (ART). Few longitudinal studies evaluated the effect of ART on the quality of life of HIV patients. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate changes in HRQoL in HIV-infected individuals one year after initiating ART. METHODS: A prospective study was conducted from May 2016 to July 2018. Data on clinical and sociodemographic characteristics of 91 HIV-infected patients were collected prior to initiation of ART and one year thereafter. Demographic and clinical data were collected and the questionnaires 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) and HIV/AIDS-targeted quality of life (HAT-QoL) were administered in both periods. Asymptomatic individuals, aged ≥18 years, were included in the study. Patients who discontinued treatment were excluded. The association between predictors of physical and mental HRQoL was analyzed by multiple linear regression analysis. RESULTS: Patients were predominantly male (78.0%), mean age 35.3 ±â€¯10.7 years, with no stable relationship (80.2%), and no comorbidities (73.6%). Most of the SF-36 domains improved after one year, particularly Physical Function (p = 0.0001), General Health (p = 0.0001), Social Functioning (p = 0.0001), Mental Health (p = 0.001), and Mental Component Summary (p = 0.004). HAT-QoL domains improved in the Overall Function (p = 0.0001), Life Satisfaction (p = 0.0001), Provider Trust (p = 0.001), and Sexual Function (p = 0.0001) domains. Sex (p = 0.032), age (p = 0.001), income (p = 0.007), and stable relationship (p = 0.004) were good predictors of the Physical Component Summary. Sex (p = 0.002) and stable relationship (p = 0.038) were good predictors of the Mental Component Summary. SF-36 and HAT-QoL scales presented strong correlations, except for Medication Concerns (0.15-0.37), HIV Mastery (0.18-0.38), Disclosure Worries (-0.15 to 0.07), and Provider Trust (-0.07 to 0.15). CONCLUSIONS: ART improved HRQoL after one year of use. The HAT-QoL and SF-36 correlated well and are good tools to evaluate HRQoL in HIV-infected patients on ART.

Association Between Health-Related Quality of Life and Physical Functioning in Antiretroviral-Naive HIV-Infected Patients.

BACKGROUND: Poor functional status can significantly affect Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) of HIV patients. However, there is scarce information on the functional profile of such patients before starting antiretroviral therapy (ART). OBJECTIVE: To estimate the association between health-related quality of life and physical functioning in Antiretroviral-Naive HIV-infected patients. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study with HIV-infected patients older than 18 years, and naïve to antiretroviral therapy. The patients were evaluated for functional profile by pulmonary function (forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume at one second, and Tiffeneau index), handgrip strength, and six-minute walk test in a cross-sectional study. HRQoL was evaluated by the 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey and its Physical (PCS) and Mental (MCS) Component Summaries. Multiple linear regression analyses were used to evaluate the association of predictor variables with PCS and MCS scores. RESULTS: We found lower HRQoL among females patients, with far below average impairment of mental health component. Both male and female patients presented lower 6MWD function test values. Patients with dynapenia were older than patients without it, presented lower PCS mean score, lower family income, poor 6 MWD function test, lower FVC, and lower FEV1 t. Multivariable logistic regression analyses showed that Grip Strength, age and family income were predictor variables for Physical component of HRQoL. Female gender and smoking habit were predictive for the mental component of HRQoL. CONCLUSION: HRQoL in HIV, drug-naïve patients is predicted by level of dynapenia, smoking, income and gender. Therefore, lifestyle changes and active exercising can help to improve HRQoL in such patients.

Changes health-related quality of life in HIV-infected patients following initiation of antiretroviral therapy: a longitudinal study

Abstract Background: Several tools have been developed to evaluate HIV health-related quality of life (HRQoL) during and after antiretroviral therapy (ART). Few longitudinal studies evaluated the effect of ART on the quality of life of HIV patients. Objective: To evaluate changes in HRQoL in HIV-infected individuals one year after initiating ART. Methods: A prospective study was conducted from May 2016 to July 2018. Data on clinical and sociodemographic characteristics of 91 HIV-infected patients were collected prior to initiation of ART and one year thereafter. Demographic and clinical data were collected and the questionnaires 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) and HIV/AIDS-targeted quality of life (HAT-QoL) were administered in both periods. Asymptomatic individuals, aged ≥18 years, were included in the study. Patients who discontinued treatment were excluded. The association between predictors of physical and mental HRQoL was analyzed by multiple linear regression analysis. Results: Patients were predominantly male (78.0%), mean age 35.3 ± 10.7 years, with no stable relationship (80.2%), and no comorbidities (73.6%). Most of the SF-36 domains improved after one year, particularly Physical Function (p = 0.0001), General Health (p = 0.0001), Social Functioning (p = 0.0001), Mental Health (p = 0.001), and Mental Component Summary (p = 0.004). HAT-QoL domains improved in the Overall Function (p = 0.0001), Life Satisfaction (p = 0.0001), Provider Trust (p = 0.001), and Sexual Function (p = 0.0001) domains. Sex (p = 0.032), age (p = 0.001), income (p = 0.007), and stable relationship (p = 0.004) were good predictors of the Physical Component Summary. Sex (p = 0.002) and stable relationship (p = 0.038) were good predictors of the Mental Component Summary. SF-36 and HAT-QoL scales presented strong correlations, except for Medication Concerns (0.15-0.37), HIV Mastery (0.18-0.38), Disclosure Worries (−0.15 to 0.07), and Provider Trust (−0.07 to 0.15). Conclusions: ART improved HRQoL after one year of use. The HAT-QoL and SF-36 correlated well and are good tools to evaluate HRQoL in HIV-infected patients on ART.

Dinapenia e qualidade de vida em indivíduos infectados pelo HIV / Dynapenia and quality of life in HIV-infected individuals

O surgimento da terapia antirretroviral (TARV) eficaz, transformou o perfil evolutivo da infecção pelo vírus da imunodeficiência humana adquirida (HIV) em uma doença crônica, com o aumento da expectativa de vida e complicações relacionadas ao uso desta, como a fraqueza muscular. Objetivo: Descrever a ocorrência de dinapenia e sua relação com qualidade de vida em indivíduos infectados com HIV. Métodos: Estudo observacional, de corte transversal, onde a força de preensão palmar foi avaliada através da dinamometria. Foram incluídos indivíduos infectados pelo HIV com idade ≥18 anos e capacidade para aferição da força muscular. O diagnóstico de dinapenia foi determinado pelos critérios definidos pela literatura para avaliação da força de preensão palmar e o índice de massa corporal (IMC). Para avaliação da qualidade de vida utilizou-se o questionário de qualidade de vida Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36). Outras variáveis mensuradas foram tempo de uso de TARV e o Índice de Comorbidades de Charlson (ICC), além de idade, sexo e peso. Resultados: A presença de dinapenia foi de 11,6% na amostra estudada. Houve associação de dinapenia com as variáveis idade (p=0,0001), presença de cormobidades (p=0,0001), menor força de preensão palmar (p=0,0001) e menor IMC (p=0,033). A qualidade de vida mostrou-se comprometida tanto nos domínios de aspectos físicos quanto nos de aspectos mentais. Conclusão: Existe dinapenia em uma parte dos indivíduos com HIV e houve associação desta com pior qualidade de vida, sugerindo a necessidade de rastreio e tratamento deste problema nessa população, muitas vezes subnotificado

The appearance of effective antiretroviral therapy (ART) has transformed the evolutionary profile of acquired human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) into a chronic disease, with increased life expectancy but complications related to its use, such as muscle weakness. Objective: Describe the occurrence of dynapenia and its relationship with quality of life in HIV infected individuals. Methods: This is a cross-sectional observational study, in which handgrip strength was evaluated with handgrip dynamometry. HIV-infected individuals aged ≥18 years and ability to have muscle strength measured were included. The diagnosis of dynapenia was determined by the literature for handgrip strength evaluation and body mass index (BMI). Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) was used to evaluate the quality of life, and other variables such as time to use ART and the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), as well as age, gender and weight were recorded. Results: The presence of dynapenia was 11.6% in the sample studied. There was an association of dynapenia with the variables age (p = 0.0001), presence of cormobities (p = 0.0001), lower handgrip strength (p = 0.0001) and lower BMI (p = 0.033). The quality of life has been compromised in both the physical and mental domains. Conclusion: There is dynapenia in part of the individuals with HIV and its association with poorer quality of life was found, what suggests the necessity of screening and treatment of this often underreported health problem in this population