Quality of life of people living with HIV, preliminary results from IANUA (Investigation on Antiretroviral Therapy) study

Introduction The introduction of combined antiretroviral treatment (cART) has reduced HIV‐associated morbidity and mortality, and changed the patients’ perspective of life. As a result, Health Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) has become a crucial clinical issue. Objective Assessment of HRQOL in a sample of Italian patients from IANUA study. Investigate correlation between CD4 cell counts, viral load and changes in HRQOL. Materials and Methods EQ‐5D‐3L self‐reported questionnaire has been used in the evaluation of HRQOL. It assesses five dimensions: “mobility,” “self care,” “usual activities,” “pain/discomfort” and “anxiety/depression.” Each dimension has three levels: no problems, some problems and extreme problems. In addition, it includes a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) where one's own health “today” is rated from 0 “worst imaginable health” to 100 “best imaginable health.” The respondents provide information on marital status, education, employment/unemployment, other treatments used in addition to HAART (1,2,3,4,5 or more) and number of hospitalizations due to HIV/AIDS. Results 684 patients completed the questionnaire: 231 females and 453 males. The mean age of the sample was 51 years (range 21–78). The mean VAS score was 69.9. 558 patients (81.5%) reported no problems in mobility. 642 patients (93.5%) had no problems in self care. 423 patients (61.8%) had no pain/discomfort while 219 had some problems. 326 patients (46.1%) had some problems in anxiety/depression. Conclusions The analysis of self‐reported questionnaires indicates that HRQOL in our sample group is not deeply affected by HIV/AIDS. The dimensions that are affected in the least are “mobility” and “self care” while the major problem is “anxiety/depression” with half of the sample reporting moderate or high level.