Display Settings:

Format

Send to:

Choose Destination
We are sorry, but NCBI web applications do not support your browser and may not function properly. More information
    AIDS Care. 2013;25(4):451-8. doi: 10.1080/09540121.2012.712669. Epub 2012 Aug 15.

    Chronic illness burden and quality of life in an aging HIV population.

    Source

    Group Health Research Institute, Group Health Cooperative, Seattle, WA, USA. balderson.b@ghc.org

    Abstract

    The population of persons living with HIV (PLWH) is growing older and more prone to developing other chronic health conditions. Disease progression has been shown to be related to quality of life (QoL). However, descriptions of chronic comorbid illnesses and the unique QoL challenges of older adults living with HIV are not well understood and have not been examined in multiple geographic locations. About 452 PLWH aged 50 years or older were recruited from AIDS Service Organizations in nine states. Participants completed a telephone survey that included measures of other chronic health conditions, perceived stress, depression, and health-related quality of life. As much as 94% of the sample reported a chronic health condition in addition to HIV (mode = 2). The highest reported conditions were hypertension, chronic pain, hepatitis, and arthritis. Despite relatively high rates of depression, overall QoL was moderately high for the sample. Physical functioning was most impacted by the addition of other chronic health problems. Social functioning, mental health functioning, stress, and depression were also strongly associated with chronic disease burden. Additional chronic health problems are the norm for PLWH aged 50 years and older. QoL is significantly related to the addition of chronic health problems. As increasing numbers of PLWH reach older age, this raises challenges for providing comprehensive healthcare to older PLWH with multiple chronic conditions.

    PMID:
    22894702
    [PubMed - in process]
    PMCID:
    PMC3535557
    Free PMC Article

    Images from this publication.See all images (2)Free text

    Figure 1.
    Figure 2.

      Supplemental Content

      Icon for Atypon Icon for PubMed Central

      Save items

      Recent activity

      Your browsing activity is empty.

      Activity recording is turned off.

      Turn recording back on

      See more...
      Write to the Help Desk