Purpose:

To know about quality of life, health and general well-being among people living with HIV who take antiretroviral therapy.

Material and methods:

Cross-sectional descriptive prospective observational study. Adults with HIV's infection and antiretroviral therapy dispensed by our Pharmacy Service during 3 months were included.

World Health Organization Quality of Life in HIV-infected Persons instrument (WHOQOL-HIV-BREF) was used to explore the quality of life (QoL). The scores denote an individual's perception of QoL in six domains: physical, psychological, level of independence, social relationships, environment and spirituality. Items are rated on a 5-point Likert scale with a transformed maximum score of 100 points per item. Five questions are specific to HIV/AIDS (Q:4,8-10,17). The questionnaire was self-administered.

Age (≤50 years), gender, civil status and level of studies was also collected. The questionnaire, anonymous and voluntary, was returned in the next visit to our centre.

Median and interquartile range was calculated for each domain. Relationship among scores and demographic variables was explored.

Results:

69 patients were included (response rate 45.1%), 72.5% male. Age (median [IQR])=50.4 [55.1-43] years. Education received: none 5.8%; primary school 37.7%; secondary 47.8%; tertiary 8.7%. Civil status: married 21.9%; living as married 15.9%; divorced 7.2%; single 47.8%; widowed 7.2%.

Results of domains transformed score: physical (median [IQR])=75 [65-80], psychological=68 [57-76]; level of independence=70 [59-80]; social relationships=65 [58-80], environment= 70 [64-80]; and spirituality=63 [55-75]. Global score=67 [71-78].

Age (≤50 years) was the only variable related with test score (mean difference (IC95%; p); physical domain (11.41 (4.12-18.69); 0.03), level of independence (10.47 (1.85-19.08); 0.018) and global score (8.33 (1.99-14.67); 0.011).

Conclusions:

QoL score was lower regarding spirituality domain followed by social relationships. Age over 50 was statistically associated with a worse self-reported QoL.

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