Poor health-related quality of life and abnormal psychosocial adjustment in Italian children with perinatal HIV infection receiving highly active antiretroviral treatment

Abstract

To evaluate health-related quality of life (HRQL), social competence, and behavioral problems in children with perinatal HIV infection receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), a cross-sectional study was performed at the Department of Pediatrics, University of Brescia. We evaluated HRQL, social competence, and behavioral problems in 27 HIV-infected children compared with age and sex-matched control subjects using the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), respectively. On the PedsQL 4.0 Generic Core Scale, HIV-infected subjects displayed significantly reduced physical (p=0.043) and psychosocial health (p=0.021) functioning, particularly at school (p=0.000), compared with healthy subjects, resulting in a significantly reduced total score (p=0.013). Assessment of social competence and the behavioral features of HIV-infected children by means of the CBCL revealed severe limitations of functioning in HIV-infected children who had impaired social ability. Children with HIV-RNA above the threshold level of 50 had higher scores on the CBCL delinquent behavior (p=0.021) and school competence (p=0.025) subsets. Although the introduction of HAART regimens has prolonged the survival of HIV-infected children, other factors, including disease morbidity and familial and environmental conditions, negatively affect their quality of life, thereby contributing to increased risk for behavioral problems.

Impact of Antiretroviral Therapy on Quality of Life in HIV-Infected Southeast Asian Children in the PREDICT Study

“…The majority of QOL reports in HIV-infected children were from resource-rich settings, and conducted as cross-sectional studies in children already treated with ART. 3,[10][11][12] There are limited data of QOL change before and after ART initiation in HIV-infected children without AIDS symptoms. 13 Our team has conducted a multicenter, randomized, openlabel study of early versus deferred ART among Thai and Cambodian ART-naïve HIV-infected children with CD4 15-24% (Pediatric Randomized of Early vs.…”

Effectiveness of Spirulina Supplement and Selected Yogasanas on Quality of Life of Children With Hiv Infection

“…4 Even though the survival was prolonged by ART there are at risk of impaired psychosocial functioning as their lower scores on total competence in youth (11-18 years) self report. 9 In contrast a quality of life study conducted among Indian children revealed that they have a better psychosocial and school functioning scores than children with cystic fibrosis 5 HIV children with normal CD4 count and undetectable viral load had school (51%) and dropout (28.6%), 10 they have compromised executive function and information processing, 11 81% systematic review reported some form of cognitive delay.…”

“…3 The quality of life assessment studies among the children with HIV infection showed that their physical, psychosocial and school functioning was affected. [4][5][6] People living with AIDS and cancer experience stress, stress influences the number of immune cells and cytokine dysregulation. The practice of yoga, meditation, muscle relaxation, hypnosis was shown the effect of reducing the psychological and physiological effect of stress in cancers and HIV infection.…”

Evaluation of Psychosocial Adjustment and Self-Esteem in Perinatally HIV-Infected Adolescents

“…Previous studies have revealed that children and adolescents with HIV infection were at increased risks of psychological and behavioral problems [9,10]. In a cohort study, emotional and behavioral problems were found in 24.5% of HIV-infected adolescents [11].…”