Abstract
We set out to document quality of life in South African HIV subjects, using the Medical Outcomes Survey (MOS) SF-36 instrument, and to determine whether this was affected by race, gender or clinical stage of disease. A cross-sectional survey of 134 HIV outpatients (42 White, 49 Mixed race, 43 Black) and 114 healthy non-medical hospital personnel (36 White, 37 Mixed race, 42 Black) was carried out at a referral centre for HIV patients in the Western Cape region of South Africa. Scores on eight scales measuring different aspects of quality of life were calculated. Black female controls scored significantly lower on all scales (p<0.05) except physical function. HIV-infected subjects of Mixed race (both genders) reported poorer physical function (p<0.05) but no other scale was affected by race. HIV subjects scored significantly lower than controls on all scales (p<0.01); the majority of the decline in function occurred early in disease by WHO stages 1 and 2. We conclude that HIV-infection impacts early on all aspects of quality of life and that this impact is largely independent of racial origin.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Department of National Health and Population Development. Fifth national HIV survey in women attending antenatal clinics, South Africa, October/November 1994. Epidemiological Comments 1995; 22: 90–100.
Wachtel T, Piette J, Mor V, Stein M, Fleishman J, Carpenter C. Quality of life in persons with Human Immunodeficiency Virus infection: Measurement by the Medical Outcomes Study instrument. Ann Int Med 1992; 116: 129–137.
Wu AW, Rubin HR, Mathews WC et al. A health status questionnaire using 30 items from the Medical Outcomes Study. Preliminary validation in persons with early HIV infection. Med Care 1991; 29: 786–798.
Lubeck DP, Fries JF. Changes in quality of life among persons with HIV infection. Qual Life Res 1992; 1: 359–366.
Wu AW, Lamping DL. Assessment of quality of life in HIV disease. AIDS 1994; 8: S349–359.
Ware JE, Sherbourne CD. The MOS 36-item Short-Form Health Survey [SF-36]. (1) Conceptual framework and item selection. Med Care 1992; 30: 473–483.
Lamping DL. Measuring quality of life in HIV infection: validation of the SF-36 short-form health survey. Int Conf AIDS 1993; 9(2): 780.
WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome; Interim proposal for a WHO staging system for HIV infection and disease. Wkly Epidemiol Rec 1990; 65: 221–228.
Altman DG. Practical statistics for medical research. Chapman & Hall, 1991: 406–407.
Aaronson NK, Acquadro C, Alonso J, et al. International quality of life assessment (IQOLA) project. Qual Life Res 1992; 1: 349–351.
Stewart AL, Hays RD, Ware JE. The MOS Short-form General Health Survey: Reliability and validity in a patient population. Med Care 1988; 26: 724–735.
Burgess A, Dayer M, Catalan J, Hawkins D, Gazzard B. The reliability and validity of two HIV-specific health-related Quality-of-life measures: a preliminary analysis. AIDS 1993; 7: 1001–1008.
Catalan J. Psychiatric manifestations of HIV disease. Ballieres Clin Gastroenterol 1990; 4: 547–562.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
O'Keefe, E.A., Wood, R. The impact of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection on quality of life in a multiracial South African population. Qual Life Res 5, 275–280 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00434749
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00434749