Quality of life of persons with HIV infection in an academic hospital

OBJECTIVE: Comparison of the quality of life of asymptomatic (n = 24) and symptomatic (n = 20) HIV-infected patients and description of the changes in quality of life during the symptomatic stage. DESIGN: Prospective study. SETTING: University Hospital Utrecht. METHOD: Every four months questionnaires on quality of life were completed by 44 of 55 consecutive HIV-infected patients. RESULTS: Physically, asymptomatic HIV-infected patients were better off than symptomatic HIV-infected patients; psychologically, however, both groups of patients showed similar responses. During the symptomatic stage the patients' physical functioning diminished further, but feelings of anxiety or depression showed no marked change; self-evaluations of health conditions became slightly more negative with time.