Impact of rheumatic symptoms on QLY in HIV-positive patients
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The impact of rheumatic symptoms on functional ability and quality of life among HIV positive adults in the developed world.
IRAS ID
211646
Contact name
Jaime Vera
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Brighton and Sussex University Hospital NHS Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 9 months, 1 days
Research summary
Research Summary:
At the end of 2015 36.7 million people worldwide were infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). As availability of newer treatment strategies and better access to healthcare has reduced HIV mortality and normalised life expectancy, HIV is increasingly managed as a chronic illness, and the morbidity associated with complications such as musculoskeletal and rheumatic symptoms are encountered increasingly often in this population. Poorly controlled rheumatic pain has an impact on wellbeing and with consequences on physical, mental and social functional ability. Management of HIV patients therefore needs to adapt in order to manage long-term complications of HIV. An early understanding and treatment of rheumatic symptoms will go a long way in improving patient well-being, functional status as well as health-related QoL.
Using Brighton as an example of HIV positive patients from a higher income country we aim to report the prevalence of rheumatic symptoms and discuss the implications on the QoL and functional ability in this population.A cross-sectional prospective single-centre study will be performed on a number of patients living with HIV referred to the HIV clinic at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton, United Kingdom during October 2016 to December 2016. Eligibility criteria includes: documented HIV infection, 18 years or older, have no history of trauma to the joints within the previous four weeks and are willing to provide written informed consent.
Patient will be asked to complete a specifically developed questionnaire including disease related aspects, functional capacity items and a quality of life assessment. Medical records will be reviewed for answers to further questions and documentation of any laboratory and radiological findings.
Summary of Ressults:
Musculoskeletal symptoms in people living with HIV (PLWH) such as pain, joint stiffness, and fatigue are commonly reported. Prevalence rates of up to 45%, 79% and 88% respec- tively have been reported. However, very little is known about differences in prevalence and impact of musculoskeletal symptoms on physical functioning and quality of life of PLWH on effective combined antiretroviral treatment (cART) in high and low-resource settings.
214 patients were enrolled (108:UK and 106:Zambia). Participants from Zambia were younger (47 vs 44 years) and had significantly lower CD4 counts compared to those from the UK, while the UK group had lived with HIV longer (11 vs 6
years) and reported more comorbidities than the Zambian group (66% vs 26%) Musculoskeletal pain was common in both groups (UK:69% vs Zambia:61%) but no significant differences in physical functional capacity between the groups were observed. However, the UK group had significantly worse quality of life measurements.REC name
Wales REC 6
REC reference
16/WA/0285
Date of REC Opinion
1 Sep 2016
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion