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

Figures & data

Table 1. Demographics.

	n (%)
Age
50–54 years old	265 (59%)
55–59 years old	129 (29%)
60+ years old	58 (12%)
Sex
Male	327 (72%)
Female	125 (28%)
Ethnicity
African-American	255 (56%)
White/non-hispanic	173 (38%)
Hispanic/Latino	30 (7%)
Native American	11 (2%)
Asian	2 (0.04%)
Education
Less than high school	81 (18%)
High school	142 (31%)
Some college/college degree	186 (41%)
Post graduate degree	53 (10%)
Sexual orientation
Heterosexual	248 (55%)
Homosexual	157 (35%)
Bisexual	39 (9%)
Transgender or transsexual	4 (1%)
Refused/don't know	4 (1%)
Relationship
Single	213 (47%)
Married/partnered	107 (24%)
Divorced/separated	95 (21%)
Widowed	37 (8%)
Ever injected drugs	160 (35%)
Undetectable viral load	298 (66%)
Ever been diagnosed with AIDS	242 (54%)
HIV duration
Less than 5 years	32 (7%)
5–9 years	60 (13%)
10–14 years	117 (26%)
15–19 years	120 (27%)
20+ years	121 (27%)
Self-reported depression in last 3 years	242 (64%)
Most recent CD4, Mean (SD)	514 (329)

Figure 1.  Number of self-reported chronic conditions in addition to HIV, excluding depression.

Figure 2.  Type of self-reported chronic conditions.

Note: ^aBP, blood pressure.

^b“Other Chronic Pain” refers to chronic pain other than arthritis, back pain, or headaches.

^c“Respiratory Disorders” refers to asthma, chronic bronchitis, and emphysema.

^d“Stomach Problems” refers to ulcers, chronic acid reflux, chronic inflamed bowel, enteritis, or colitis.

Table 2. Relationship between quality of life variables and number of chronic conditions.

		Unadjusted		Adjusted
	M (SD)	Beta	p	Beta	p
SF physical functioning^a	58.2 (26.3)	−5.01	<0.0001	−4.78	<0.0001
SF social functioning^a	66.0 (28.7)	−3.77	<0.0001	−3.71	<0.0001
SF mental health functioning^a	60.0 (16.5)	−2.25	<0.0001	−2.13	<0.0001
Depression^b	7.3 (5.7)	0.9	<0.0001	0.89	<0.0001
Perceived stress^c	9.6 (3.44)	0.39	<0.0001	0.36	<0.0001
Note: “Beta” gives the average change per additional chronic condition.
^aRange 0 (worst) to 100 (best).
^bRange 0 (no symptoms) to 24 (severe symptoms).
^cRange 4 (low) to 24 (high).
Adjusted for age group (under 55, 55–59, 60 + ), gender, racial group (white vs. African-American vs. other), and education level (high school graduate or less vs. some college or more education) and self-reported last CD4 value using least-squares regression analysis.