Quality of life assessment among HIV‐positive persons entering the INSIGHT Strategic Timing of AntiRetroviral Treatment (START) trial

• Published in: HIV medicine 2015-04, Vol.16 (S1), p.88-96
• Main Authors: Lifson, AR, Grandits, GA, Gardner, EM, Wolff, MJ, Pulik, P, Williams, I, Burman, WJ
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; antiretroviral therapy; CD4 Lymphocyte Count; Female; HIV; HIV Infections - pathology; HIV Infections - psychology; Humans; Lentivirus; Male; Middle Aged; Quality of Life; Self-Examination; Surveys and Questionnaires; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1464-2662; 1468-1293
• DOI: 10.1111/hiv.12237

Objectives With HIV treatment prolonging survival and HIV infection now managed as a chronic illness, quality of life (QOL) is important to evaluate in persons living with HIV (PLWH). We assessed at study entry the QOL of antiretroviral‐naïve PLWH with CD4 counts > 500 cells/μL in the Strategic Timing of AntiRetroviral Treatment (START) clinical trial. Methods QOL was assessed with: (1) a visual analogue scale (VAS) for self‐assessment of overall current health; (2) the Short‐Form 12‐Item Version 2 Health Survey® (SF‐12V2), for which responses are summarized into eight individual QOL domains plus component summary scores for physical health [the Physical Health Component Summary (PCS)] and mental health [the Mental Health Component Summary (MCS)]. The VAS and eight domain scores were scaled from 0 to 100. Mean QOL measures were calculated overall and by demographic, clinical and behavioural factors. Results A total of 4631 participants completed the VAS and 4119 the SF‐12. The mean VAS score (with standard deviation) was 80.9 ± 15.7. Mean SF‐12 domain scores were lowest for vitality (66.3 ± 26.4) and mental health (68.6 ± 21.4), and highest for physical functioning (89.3 ± 23.0) and bodily pain (88.0 ± 21.4). Using multiple linear regression, PCS scores were lower (P