Comorbidities and factors associated with health-related quality of life among people living with HIV/AIDS in Gandaki Province of Nepal

Abstract

Abstract Background HIV/AIDS remains a public health concern affecting millions of people across the world. Co-morbidities had also added burden among PLHIV and affected quality of life. This study aims to assess the prevalence of co-morbidities and health related quality of life of HIV infected patients of Gandaki province. Methods The study was a health facility-based cross-sectional in design. This study was carried out among 337 HIV patients registered under Western Regional Hospital ART center of Gandaki province of Nepal. The hospital is located at the capital city of Gandaki province. Participants’ response was recorded into the questionnaire tool. Data was entered in Epi Data software and analysis was performed with the help of the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) V.16. Multivariate logistic regression model was carried out to identify the independent and comorbidities factors related HRQoL. The odds ratio and 95% CI was reported while computing the association between comorbidities, HRQoL and independent variables. Results A total of 337 people living with HIV patients participated in this study. The overall quality of life of participants was found poor with mean score of 6.25±1.87. The overall prevalence of comorbidities among HIV patients was 28.2%. Participants who had comorbidities were associated with overall health related quality of life; participants who had co-morbidities had poor quality of life. The research findings indicate that the quality of life for HIV patients was generally low, and there was a significant presence of comorbidities among individuals living with HIV. Several factors appear to influence the occurrence of these comorbidities, including marital status, family structure, educational attainment, occupation, current alcohol consumption, having a spouse who was a migrant labor worker, CD4 count, transportation expenses, the behavior of healthcare workers, and quality of life in all domains except the physical domain. Conclusions Comorbidities were high among people living with HIV. Community engagement to facilitate routine health check-ups and effective communication and support among these population are crucial.