Quality of life among people living with HIV/AIDS and its predictors: A cross-sectional study at ART center, Bagalkot, Karnataka

BACKGROUND: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) emerged as one of the most important public health issues of the late twentieth and early twenty- first centuries. Quality of life (QoL) of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV) is affected by multiple variables including depression as a major predictor of QoL. AIMS: To assess the QoL of PLHIV and its predictors. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: This cross-sectional study included a sample of 450 PLHIV attending the ART center, District Government Hospital, Bagalkot. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Data were collected using self-report method and Hospital's records. Tools used for data collection included sociodemographic questionnaire, WHOQOLHIV-BREF scale, and Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D Scale). Bivariate associations were observed through Pearson's correlations, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and t-tests. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed to find the significant predictors of QoL. RESULTS: Findings revealed a significant negative correlation between the QoL and depression (r = –0.751, P < 0.001). A significant regression equation was found (F(14, 435)= 57.76, P < 0.001, adjusted R(2) = 0.64) when all the variables are considered together for finding the significant predictors of the QoL. Male gender, being graduated, not knowing the mode of transmission have positively predicted the QoL. On the other hand, having primary education, being in nuclear family, having HIV-positive wife, having HIV-positive children, HIV infection through homosexual relationships, history of suicidal attempts, and history of alcohol intake negatively predicted the QoL of PLHIV. Depression was the strongest negative predictor of the QoL of PLHIV (β = –0.672, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Interventions aimed at management of depression among PLHIV attending the ART centers would result in enhancing their QoL.