Impact of antiretroviral therapy on health-related quality of life among South African women in the CAPRISA 002 acute infection study

AIDS Behav. 2014 Sep;18(9):1801-7. doi: 10.1007/s10461-014-0800-5.

Abstract

Concerns are often raised regarding potentially adverse effects of antiretroviral therapy (ART) on health-related quality of life (HRQoL), but there is limited longitudinal data to prove this. Building on our prior investigation, we examined the impact of ART on HRQoL among HIV-infected South African women with extensive follow-up in the CAPRISA 002 Acute Infection Cohort Study. Overall HRQoL and five sub-domains [physical well-being (PWB), emotional well-being (EWB), functional and global well-being (FGWB), social well-being (SWB) and cognitive functioning (CF)] were assessed using the Functional Assessment of HIV Infection (FAHI) instrument. Our analyses comparing FAHI scores between pre-ART (established infection) and ART phases using paired Wilcoxon signed-rank tests and adjusted mixed-effects regression models revealed improvements on ART in overall HRQoL, and in PWB, EWB, and SWB, but not in FGWB and CF. No long-term adverse impact of ART on HRQoL was detected, providing additional non-biomedical support to early treatment strategies.

Publication types

  • Research Support, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Acute Disease
  • Adaptation, Psychological
  • Adult
  • Anti-HIV Agents / therapeutic use*
  • Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active / methods*
  • CD4 Lymphocyte Count
  • Female
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • HIV Seropositivity / drug therapy*
  • HIV Seropositivity / epidemiology
  • HIV Seropositivity / psychology
  • Humans
  • Middle Aged
  • Prospective Studies
  • Quality of Life*
  • Regression Analysis
  • Sickness Impact Profile*
  • Socioeconomic Factors
  • South Africa / epidemiology
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Treatment Outcome
  • Viral Load

Substances

  • Anti-HIV Agents