Assessing the effect of HAART on change in quality of life among HIV-infected women

Abstract Background The impact of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) on health-related quality of life (QOL) of HIV-1 infected individuals in large prospective cohorts has not been well studied. Objective To assess the effect of HAART on QOL by comparing HIV-infected women using HAART with HIV-infected women remaining HAART naïve in the Women's Interagency HIV Study (WIHS), a multicenter prospective cohort study begun in 1994 in the US. Methods A 1:1 matching with equivalent (≤ 0.1%) propensity scores for predicting HAART initiation was implemented and 458 pairs were obtained. HAART effects were assessed using pattern mixture models. The changes of nine QOL domain scores and one summary score derived from a shortened version of the MOS-HIV from initial values were used as study outcomes. Results The background covariates of the treatment groups were well-balanced after propensity score matching. The 916 matched subjects had a mean age of 38.5 years and 42% had a history of AIDS diagnosis. The participants contributed a total of 4,292 person visits with a median follow-up time of 4 years. In the bivariate analyses with only HAART use and time as covariates, HAART was associated with short-term improvements of 4 QOL domains: role functioning, social functioning, pain and perceived health index. After adjusting for demographic, socioeconomic, biological and clinical variables, HAART had small but significant short-term improvements on changes in summary QOL (mean change: 3.25; P = 0.02), role functioning (6.99; P P P = 0.03), pain (6.73; P P = 0.03) and perceived health index (4.87; P Conclusion Our study demonstrated significant short-term HAART effects on most QOL domains, but additional use of HAART did not modify long-term trends. These changes could be attributed to the direct effect of HAART and indirect HAART effect mediated through clinical changes.</p

Investigating the effects of metabolic dysregulation on hair follicles: a comparison of HIV-infected women with and without central lipohypertrophy.

BackgroundNormal lipid metabolism and functioning of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR-gamma) in the sebaceous gland is critical to maintaining a normal hair follicle. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection affects lipid metabolism; some have hypothesized a link between PPAR-gamma function and lipodystrophy in HIV infection. Our objective was to determine whether lipodystrophy is associated with altered hair characteristics in HIV-infected women from the Women's Interagency HIV Study.MethodsHair characteristics and scalp inflammation were assessed by an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Central lipohypertrophy and peripheral lipoatrophy were defined by self-report of moderate to severe fat gain in central body sites and fat loss in peripheral body sites, respectively confirmed by clinical examination. Additional covariates considered in the analyses included demographics, behavioral characteristics, medical history, and HIV-related factors.ResultsThere were 1037 women with data on all study variables; 76 women reported central lipohypertrophy, while only four women reported lipoatrophy. Women with central lipohypertrophy were more likely to be older, had a self-reported history of injection drug use, statin medication use, diabetes, elevated cholesterol, and have self-reported less hair and shorter eyelashes. After adjustment for age, central lipohypertrophy was associated with shorter eyelashes (OR 2.3; 95% CI 1.4-3.8).ConclusionsCentral lipohypertrophy was not associated with change in scalp hair texture or scalp inflammation in this cohort. Rather, we found an association between central lipohypertrophy and shorter eyelash length. This finding may be explained by an influence of prostaglandin E2 mediators on eyelash follicles

Long-term antiretroviral therapy mitigates mortality and morbidity independent of HIV tropism: 18 years follow-up in a women's cohort

ObjectiveCXCR4 (X4)-tropic HIV-1 was found previously to herald CD4 + cell depletion and disease progression in individuals who were antiretroviral-naive or took combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) for less than 5 years. We updated this finding by investigating whether the deleterious effect of X4-tropic strains is mitigated by long-term cART.DesignWe examined morbidity and mortality in relation to HIV-1 tropism and cART in 529 participants followed up to 18 years in the Women's Interagency HIV Study; 91% were women of color.MethodsPlasma-derived HIV-1 tropism was determined genotypically.ResultsWe categorized participants according to the number of visits reported on cART after initiation. Group 1: three or less visits, 74% of these participants reporting no cART; group 2: at least four visits and less than 70% of visits on cART; group 3: at least 70% of visits on cART. AIDS mortality rates for participants in each group with X4 virus compared with those with R5 virus exclusively were, respectively: 62 vs. 40% ( P  = 0.0088); 23% vs. 22% [nonsignificant (NS)]; 7% vs. 14% (NS). Kaplan-Meier curves showed accelerated progression to AIDS death or AIDS-defining illness in participants with three or less cART visits and X4 viruses ( P  = 0.0028) but no difference in progression rates stratified by tropism in other groups. Logistic regression found that HIV-1 suppression for at least 10 semiannual visits (≥5 years total) mitigated X4 tropism's deleterious effect on mortality, controlling for maximal viral load, and CD4 + nadir.ConclusionLong-term cART markedly mitigated the deleterious effect of X4 viruses on AIDS morbidity and mortality. Mitigation was correlated with duration of viral suppression, supporting HIV-1 suppression as a crucial goal

Association of Child Care Burden and Household Composition with Adherence to Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy in the Women's Interagency HIV Study

Our objective was to describe the association that childcare burden, household composition, and health care utilization have with adherence to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) among women in the United States. The primary outcome was 95% or more adherence to HAART evaluated at 10,916 semiannual visits between October 1998 and March 2006 among 1419 HIV-infected participants enrolled in the Women's Interagency HIV Study. HAART adherence levels of 95% or more were reported at 76% of the semiannual visits. At only 4% of the person-visits did women report either quite a bit or extreme difficulty in caring for child; at 52% of the person-visits women reported at least one child 18 years of age or older living in the household. We found a one-unit increase in the difficulty in caring for children (childcare burden was assessed on a 5-point scale: not difficult [1] to extremely difficult [5]) was associated with a 6% decreased odds of 95% or more HAART adherence (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 0.94; p = 0.07). Each additional child 18 years of age or less living in the household was associated with an 8% decreased odds of 95% or more adherence (adjusted OR = 0.92, p = 0.03). Both the number and type of adult living in the household, as well as health care utilization were not associated with HAART adherence. Greater child care burden and number of children 18 years old or younger living in household were both inversely associated with HAART adherence. Assessing patients' difficulties in caring for children and household composition are important factors to consider when addressing adherence to HAART

Long-Term Antiretroviral Therapy Mitigates Mortality and Morbidity Independent of HIV Tropism: 18 Years Follow-Up in a Women\u27s Cohort

OBJECTIVE: CXCR4 (X4)-tropic HIV-1 was found previously to herald CD4 + cell depletion and disease progression in individuals who were antiretroviral-naive or took combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) for less than 5 years. We updated this finding by investigating whether the deleterious effect of X4-tropic strains is mitigated by long-term cART. DESIGN: We examined morbidity and mortality in relation to HIV-1 tropism and cART in 529 participants followed up to 18 years in the Women\u27s Interagency HIV Study; 91% were women of color. METHODS: Plasma-derived HIV-1 tropism was determined genotypically. RESULTS: We categorized participants according to the number of visits reported on cART after initiation. Group 1: three or less visits, 74% of these participants reporting no cART; group 2: at least four visits and less than 70% of visits on cART; group 3: at least 70% of visits on cART. AIDS mortality rates for participants in each group with X4 virus compared with those with R5 virus exclusively were, respectively: 62 vs. 40% ( P  = 0.0088); 23% vs. 22% [nonsignificant (NS)]; 7% vs. 14% (NS). Kaplan-Meier curves showed accelerated progression to AIDS death or AIDS-defining illness in participants with three or less cART visits and X4 viruses ( P  = 0.0028) but no difference in progression rates stratified by tropism in other groups. Logistic regression found that HIV-1 suppression for at least 10 semiannual visits (≥5 years total) mitigated X4 tropism\u27s deleterious effect on mortality, controlling for maximal viral load, and CD4 + nadir. CONCLUSION: Long-term cART markedly mitigated the deleterious effect of X4 viruses on AIDS morbidity and mortality. Mitigation was correlated with duration of viral suppression, supporting HIV-1 suppression as a crucial goal