Determinants of Quality of Life in HIV-Infected Patients Receiving Highly Active Antiretroviral Treatment at a Medical College ART Center in Kolkata, India

Health-related quality of life (QOL) has become a high priority of long-term management of HIV-infected individuals. The newly diagnosed HIV cases were assessed to obtain sociodemographic and clinical findings. Eyesenk Personality Questionnaire (EPQ), World Health Organization Quality of Life Brief (WHOQOL-BREF) for HIV-infected patients, and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) were used to get data regarding personality traits, QOL, and depression scores. A total of 175 patients were included in the study, 128 (73.1%) men and 47 (26.9%) women. Overall 56% of patients screened positive for depression. Presence of depression and high neuroticism score in the personality profile of HIV-infected patients are significantly associated with poorer QOL. High neuroticism score was a strong predictor of poorer QOL in psychological and spiritual domain. Management of HIV-infected patients therefore needs to address these psychological issues.

Source: Journal of the International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care (JIAPAC) - July 17, 2013 Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Talukdar, A., Ghosal, M. K., Sanyal, D., Talukdar, P. S., Guha, P., Guha, S. K., Basu, S. Tags: Antiretroviral Therapy Source Type: research