The impact on health-related quality of life of treatment interruptions in HIV-1-infected patients

To examine health-related quality of life (HRQOL) before, during and after treatment interruptions (TI) in antiretroviral therapy, we analysed results from Medical Outcomes Study HIV health surveys on 50 HIV-1-infected patients. HRQOL scores decreased during a TI but increased after re-initiating treatment, although scores remained lower than those preceding the TI. The reasons for a TI differentially affected HRQOL. The findings suggest that TI should be based on medical decisions and not used to increase HRQOL.