Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2010 Jan 15;50(2):255-63.
doi: 10.1086/649216.

Health-related quality of life and survival among HIV-infected patients receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy: a study of patients in the AIDS Therapy Evaluation in the Netherlands (ATHENA) Cohort

I Marion de Boer-van der Kolk  1 , Mirjam A G Sprangers, Jan M Prins, Colette Smit, Frank de Wolf, Pythia T Nieuwkerk
Affiliations

Health-related quality of life and survival among HIV-infected patients receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy: a study of patients in the AIDS Therapy Evaluation in the Netherlands (ATHENA) Cohort

I Marion de Boer-van der Kolk et al. Clin Infect Dis. .

Abstract

Background: Previous studies have shown that health-related quality of life (HRQL) predicts survival in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). However, these studies predated the highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) era, included only a few patients receiving HAART, or had a limited duration of follow-up. This study investigates whether HRQL predicts survival among HIV-infected patients receiving HAART.

Methods: HIV-infected patients participating in the focus group of the AIDS Therapy Evaluation in the Netherlands (ATHENA) study and starting or already receiving HAART completed the Medical Outcomes Study HIV Health Survey at study entry (1 May 1998 through 31 December 2000). The physical health summary (PHS) and mental health summary (MHS) scores were calculated. All-cause mortality was established at 31 March 2008. Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox regression models were performed to predict survival.

Results: The median follow-up was 8.4 years. Sixty-six patients (11.8%) died during follow-up. We found a significant relation between quartiles of PHS and survival (P < .001, log-rank test). Of patients with a PHS, 26 (20%) died in quartile 1 (indicating worst HRQL), 17 (13%) died in quartile 2, 10 (8%) died in quartile 3, and 5 (4%) died in quartile 4 (indicating best HRQL) (P< .001). The prediction of PHS on survival was independent of other (clinical) parameters (P< .001). No relation was found between MHS and survival (P= .13).

Conclusion: Patient-reported HRQL predicted survival among HIV-infected patients receiving HAART. This information could be highly useful for physicians in determining the prognosis of their patients.

PubMed Disclaimer

Publication types