Factors related to quality of life of people living with HIV in Alicante, Spain

Abstract

Purpose: To analyze the determinants that influence the health-related quality of life of people living with HIV in Alicante (Spain).

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted, which recruited 214 Spanish-speaking participants over 18 years of age living with HIV from an outpatient consulting office of the infectious diseases in a hospital in Alicante between 2013 and 2014. A self-administration sociodemographic survey and the Short Form Health Survey (SF-36v2) was used to assess health-related quality of life. This questionnaire measures health on 8domains.

Results: 70% of the participants were male, 50% had CD4 cell count between 200-499 cells/mm³ and 20% were infected by the hepatitis C virus (HCV). For the 8SF-36v2 scales, the average scores were higher than 45. Men presented better scores than women; there were statistically significant differences in all the scales except for general health. Being co-infected with HCV and being unemployed or other situations other than having a job were significantly associated with a lower physical component summary, while being married or having a partner were significantly associated with a higher score in the mental component summary.

Conclusion: The socioeconomic level and the presence of clinical factors such as HCV influence the scales of quality of life of physical health among adults living with HIV.

Keywords: Adult; Adulto; Calidad de vida relacionada con la salud; Cross-sectional studies; Cuestionario autoadministrado por los pacientes; Estudios transversales; Female; HIV/AIDS; Health related quality of life; Hombre; Male; Mujer; Patient-reported outcomes; VIH/sida.