OBJECTIVES :

Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is considered to be the fourth 90 of UNAIDS 90-90-90 target to monitor the effects of combination antiretroviral therapy (ART). ART has significantly increased the life expectancy of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). However, the impact of chronic infection on HRQoL remains unclear. The current study was therefore aimed at assessing HRQoL and associated factors for PLWHA receiving ART in Pakistan.

METHODS

A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among PLWHA attending an ART centre of a tertiary care hospital in Islamabad, Pakistan. HRQoL was assessed using a validated Urdu version of EuroQol 5 dimensions 3 level (EQ-5D-3L) and Visual Analogue Scale (EQ-VAS).

RESULTS :

Of the 602 patients included in the analyses, 59.5% reported no impairment in self-care, while 63.1% (n=380) were extremely anxious/depressed. The overall mean EQ-5D utility score and visual analogue scale (EQ-VAS) score were 0.74 (SD:0.14) and (SD:14.22) respectively. Multivariate linear regression analysis revealed that the factors significantly associated with HRQoL were: female gender; age >50 years; primary and tertiary education; > 1 year since HIV diagnosis; HIV serostatus AIDS-converted; higher CD 4 T lymphocytes count; detectable viral load; and increased time to ART

CONCLUSIONS :

Current findings have shown that Pakistan's PLWHA had a good overall HRQoL with significantly higher depression. All the factors identified are manageable by implementing Institutional based sociodemographic and clinical interventions while mitigating depression to enhance the HRQoL of PLWHA in Pakistan.