Health-related quality of life and physical functioning in people living with HIV/AIDS: a case–control design

BACKGROUND: Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) and functional exercise capacity are important area of therapeutic interventions needed to improve the general health of People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWH). However, the relationship between self-report and Performance-based Measure of Functional Capacity (PMFC) of PLWH is still obscure. This study compared the HRQoL and PMFC between a homogenous sample of clinical stage I PLWH and apparently healthy controls. METHODS: This case-control study involved 74 consenting participants (37 PLWH and 37 controls) who completed the self-report SF-12 questionnaire and PMFC assessment using Six Minute Walk Test (6MWT). PMFC was expressed in terms of Six-Minute Walk Distance (6MWD), Six-Minute Walk Work (6MWW) and Maximum oxygen uptake (VO2max). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics of mean and inferential statistics of independent t-test, ANOVA and Pearson's product moment correlation. Alpha level was set at 0.05. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in the SF-12 Physical-health Component Score (PCS) of PLWH and the controls (p=0.782). However, the SF-12 Mental-health Component Score (MCS) of PLWH was higher than that of controls (p=0.040). 6MWD, 6MWW and VO2max were significantly lower for PLWH (p0.05) while PCS was higher among females. There was no significant correlation between PMFC variables and each of PCS and MCS for PLWH and controls (p>0.05) respectively. CONCLUSION: Self-report physical health of clinical stage 1 PLWH and controls was comparable, while self-report mental health capacity was higher in PLWH than the controls. PMFC of PLWH was significantly lower compared to healthy controls without gender bias. Overall, self-report and performance-based measure of physical functional capacity of PLWH was not inter-related. Therefore understanding the factors that may influence exercise capacity of PLWH may help to develop effective exercise programmes for PLWH.