Evaluation of quality of life and associated factors among HIV patients on antiretroviral therapy in North West region of Cameroon

Abstract

Background: There is evidence that Quality of Life (QoL) of People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV) has a significant role in ART retention, treatment adherence, and survival. As a result, QoL is becoming increasingly important for policy- makers, program implementers, and researchers. However, factors associated with QoL, in a culturally diverse country like Cameroon are unknown.
 Objective: We aimed to assess the QoL of PLHIV on ART and assess the extent to which physical, psychosocial, environ- mental, and spiritual factors drive QoL.
 Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 394 PLHIV aged >21 in North-West Cameroon from April to July 2019. Data were collected using WHO-QOL BREF questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, bivariate, and multivariate linear regression analyses were performed.
 Results: Majority (34.5%) of participants were in the age range of 41-50, with 73% females. The average QoL of the re- spondents was “good” with mean score of 3.57 on 5 and 71.4% agreed to have satisfactory QoL. Bivariate regression anal- yses revealed that all six proposed predictors were significantly associated with QoL. Psychological factors made the greatest impact (β = 0.213; p<0.003), followed by physical factors (β = 0.19; p<0.001).
 Conclusion: PLHIV fairly agreed to have good QoL. The QoL was driven by mainly psychological and physical factors and not level of independence. However, the mean score perceptions for the investigated domains were low. Mental health ser- vices should consider these predictors when designing strategies to improve the QoL of PLHIV. While this study provides useful insights, other possible drivers of QoL among PLHIV should be investigated.
 Keywords: Quality of life and associated factors; HIV patients; antiretroviral therapy; Cameroon.

Health related quality of life and its association with social support among people living with HIV/AIDS receiving antiretroviral therapy in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…This finding is consistent with another study conducted in Iran that reported the overall mean QOL of PLWHA who are on ART was 39.13% [ 22 ] and a study from Ghana (38.3%) [ 23 ]. However, this review pooled estimate is higher than the estimate reported by studies conducted in western Africa Cameron (28.6%) [ 24 ], Nigeria (33.4%) [ 25 ] and Ghana (11.39%) [ 26 ]. This discrepancy might be observed due to variability in socio-cultural aspects, clinical status of the participants, study design, and better patient care in previous studies.…”

Quality of Life of People Living with HIV on Antiretroviral Therapy: A Cross-Sectional Study in Monastir, Tunisia

“…Tunisia. Although moderate, the overall mean scores of QoL domains were higher than that reported by Khademi et al In Iran, 10 but lower compared to the study of Osei-Yeboah et al in Ghana, 25 Busi et al in Cameroon, 29 Liping et al in China 37 and Nobre et al in Finland. 38 In fact, the lowest mean scores of QoL were recorded for the social relations, the environment and the psychological domains and the highest mean scores were noted for the physical, the level of independence and the spiritual domains.…”

“…They are, particularly, low or very low in some African and Middle East countries Unemployment and financial issues affect negatively people's social relation, the level of independence and mental health, as well. [26][27][28] Some studies reported a better perception of QoL in clients receiving ART 29,30 and other findings confirmed the benefits of ART initiated at 1 month and 4 months 31 and one year 13 after clients' enrolment, compared to ART naïve clients with symptoms and AIDS-related comorbidities. 25 In fact, people receiving ART reported better physical function that positively affects their level of independence.…”

“…that may impact their level of independence. These findings were reported either for people already receiving ART 14,22,25,29,30,34 or after ART initiation at 1-4 months 31 or at one year. 13 We may conclude that the absence of symptoms in the majority of individuals in the present study (90.6%), the high level of CD4 T lymphocytes (≥500/mm3, 61.4%) and the duration of ART (>10 years, 41.9%) could be attributable to the close clinical and biological monitoring of these clients and the very good adherence to ART thanks to efficient counselling services, thus preventing opportunistic infections and AIDS-related deaths 31,39,40 even if no significant association was recorded with QoL domains.…”

Psychosocial interventions and their effectiveness on quality of life among elderly persons living with HIV in Africa South of the Sahara: Systematic review and meta -analysis protocol

“…A systematic review of PLHIV in sub-Saharan Africa found pooled estimates of anxiety and depression to be 32% and 9%, respectively [ 14 , 15 ]. Psychological symptoms usually lead to nonadherence to ART, poor rating of QoL and increased HIV-related deaths [ 16 ]. In North America and Europe, evidence showed that a positive HIV test result alone and the perception of life changes associated with a life-threatening, chronic illness led to episodes of depression and anxiety [ 13 , 17 , 18 ].…”