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Health related quality of life among persons with HIV after the use of protease inhibitors

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Abstract

Objective: This study was conducted to determine the effect of the use of HIV protease inhibitors on the quality of life among persons infected with HIV. Methods: Subjects were participants in the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS Drug Treatment Program who had completed two annual participant surveys, one prior to initiating therapy with a protease inhibitor and one after. Quality of life was measured using the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form Health Survey (MOS-SF). Statistical analyses were conducted using parametric and multivariate methods. Results: Our analysis was based on 179 HIV-positive individuals. Compared to quality of life at baseline, we found no statistically significant changes in the health perception, pain, physical, role and social functioning MOS-SF subscale scores at follow-up. The measure of mental health was the only component to decline significantly over time. Sub-analyses found significant increases in the measures of health perception (p = 0.004), physical (p = 0.037), role (p < 0.001) and social functioning (p = 0.053) for individuals with a low baseline quality of life. For those with a higher quality of life before starting a protease inhibitor containing regimen we observed a significant decline in the subscales of mental health (p = 0.001), physical (p = 0.007), role (p = 0.021) and social functioning (p = 0.003) over the study period. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that despite strict dosage requirements and adverse side effects associated with protease inhibitor use patients are on the whole maintaining their quality of life after starting on a protease inhibitor containing regimen. Continued follow-up of this cohort will be required to determine the long term implications of these observations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, St. Paul's Hospital, Canada

    S. Low-Beer, K. Chan, E. Wood, B. Yip, J.S.G. Montaner, M.V. O'Shaughnessy & R.S. Hogg

  2. Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

    S. Low-Beer & J.S.G. Montaner

  3. Health Care and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

    E. Wood, J.S.G. Montaner & R.S. Hogg

  4. Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

    M.V. O'Shaughnessy

Authors
  1. S. Low-Beer
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  2. K. Chan
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  3. E. Wood
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  4. B. Yip
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  5. J.S.G. Montaner
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  6. M.V. O'Shaughnessy
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  7. R.S. Hogg
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Low-Beer, S., Chan, K., Wood, E. et al. Health related quality of life among persons with HIV after the use of protease inhibitors. Qual Life Res 9, 941–949 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008985728271

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008985728271

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