Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine the appropriateness of the recently developed Multidimensional Quality of Life Questionnaire for HIV/AIDS (MQoL-HIV) as a measure of quality of life (QoL) in cases of asymptomatic human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. The MQoL-HIV is a 40-item instrument measuring ten domains (mental health, physical health, physical functioning, social functioning, social support, cognitive functioning, financial status, partner intimacy, sexual functioning and medical care) relevant to HIV infection. An overall QoL score, the MQoL-HIV Index, is a weighted composite of two domain scores. In a sample of 216 HIV-infected men and women, the MQoL-HIV distinguished acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), symptomatic and asymptomatic cases in overall QoL and in seven individual QoL domains. The index was responsive to perceived QoL changes over 5.5 months (r = 0.52). We also found the MQoL-HIV was less susceptible to ceiling effects in asymptomatic cases than was the Medical Outcomes Study (MOS) SF-20. These results suggest that the MQoL-HIV is a valid and reliable measure of QoL for both asymptomatic and symptomatic HIV infection.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Carpenter CCJ, Fischl MA, Hammer SM et al. Antiretroviral therapy for HIV infection in 1996. JAMA 1996; 276: 146–154.
Ho DD. Time to hit HIV, early and hard. N Engl J Med 1995; 333: 450–451.
Whalen CC, Antani M, Carey J et al. An index of symptoms for infection with immunodeficiency virus: reliability and validity. J Clin Epidemiol 1994; 47: 537.
Kazis LE, Anderson JJ, Meenan RF. Effect sizes for interpreting changes in health status. Med Care 1989; 27: S178–S189.
Smith KW, Avis NE, Mayer KH. Responsiveness of the MQoL-HIV to quality of life changes in a cohort of HIV+ men. In XI International Conference on AIDS, Vancouver, 9 July 1996.
Streiner DL, Norman GR. Health Measurement Scales: A Practical Guide to their Development and Use, 2nd edn. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995.
Holmes W, Bix B, Shea J. SF-20 score and item distributions in a human immunodeficiency virus-seropositive sample. Med Care 1996; 34: 562.
Avis NE, Smith KW, Mayer KH et al. The Multidimensional Quality of Life Questionnaire for persons with HIV/AIDS: development and evaluation. Under review.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Smith, K.W., Swislow, L., Avis, N.E. et al. Use of the MQoL-HIV with asymptomatic HIV-positive patients. Qual Life Res 6, 555–560 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1018412216638
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1018412216638