Health-related quality of life: gender differences in people living with HIV/AIDS

Gender, as a social determinant of health, can favor social and health inequalities that compromise the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). This study aims to compare HRQOL in women and men with HIV in Brazil and identify factors associated with their physical and mental health. Two hundred eighteen men and 101 women with HIV completed a sociodemographic and clinical questionnaire, the 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36v2), the HIV/AIDS-Targeted Quality of Life (HAT-QOL), and the WHOQOL-HIV BREF. HRQOL scores were compared with the Mann-Whitney U test, and multiple linear regression analyses were used to identify factors related to Physical and Mental Health (PCS and MCS of SF-36v2). Women had worse HRQOL than men in all three instruments. Models for Physical Health (Women: R 2 = 0.56, p