Associations of clinical parameters with health-related quality of life in hospitalized persons with HIV disease

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Abstract
To assess the associations of clinical parameters with health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in hospitalized patients with HIV a cross-sectional survey and medical record review was conducted. Medical record reviews for clinical data were completed for 217 hospitalized, HIV-positive individuals. HRQOL was measured in face-to-face interviews using a 44-item survey instrument that yielded 11 multi-item scales. Internal consistency reliability was adequate for the 11 HRQOL scales. HRQOL scores were significantly lower for our hospitalized sample compared to a previous sample of ambulatory clinical trial patients. As expected, individuals reporting more days spent in bed due to illness had significantly lower HRQOL than those reporting fewer days spent in bed due to illness. In addition, those with greater severity of illness had significantly lower HRQOL than persons with less severe illness. In multivariate models, severity of illness and the number of disability days due to illness were significantly associated with worse HRQOL, controlling for CD4 count, symptoms and other patient characteristics. Severity of illness and disability days due to illness are associated with poorer functioning and well-being in hospitalized persons with HIV disease. HRQOL measures are useful tools for assessing the effects of HIV disease on the day-to-day life of individuals with HIV disease.