Qualidade de vida na infeção VIH: perfis segundo o modo de transmissão

Living with HIV may differ significantly in function of the acquisition mode of HIV. Considering this difference is crucial to avoid one-size-fits-all approaches. The aim of this study was to assess the profiles of quality of life (QoL) according to the mode of HIV transmission and to analyze the domains that contribute to the overall QoL. The sample of this cross-sectional study comprised 1112 HIV-infected patients, recruited at the departments of infectious diseases of 10 Portuguese hospitals. All participants completed the WHOQOL-HIV-Bref questionnaire. The results revealed significant differences in the independence, environment, and spirituality domains, and in the overall facet of QoL. The group that reported HIV acquisition through intravenous drug use (IDU) reported poorer QoL than group of men who have sex with men (MSM) and the group that reported heterosexual transmission. This last group also presented significantly worse QoL in the environment domain and in the overall facet than the MSM