Quality of life measures in the Miami HIV-1 infected drug abusers cohort: Relationship to gender and disease status

Purpose: This study examined activity, daily living, health, support, and o utlook in HIV+ drug users. Methods: Using the physician-administered Spitze r Index, the study assessed 75 HIV-1 seropositive men (n = 51) and women (n = 24) enrolled in the Miami HIV-1 Infected Drug Abusers Study (MIDAS). Res ults: Total composite scores were significantly lower in the HIV-1 infected women than the men (p = .03). Significant gender differences were observed in activity assessment, independent of disease status, with women six time s as likely to have lower activity scores (p = .0038). Most women (45%) in this category were homeless or marginally housed, compared to II percent of the men. Additionally, women with low activity scores had less social supp ort than women with high activity scares. Cocaine use was significantly rel ated to reports of normal activity, and varied across genders; more men use d cocaine than women (p = .03). Conylared to non-AIDS participants, AIDS pa tients were more likely to have lower scores in health (p = .009) and poore r outlook (p = .03). Implications: These findings reveal specific deficits in areas of psychosocial capacity particularly in HIV-1 infected women who abuse drugs, that may need to be strengthened in order to enhance function and adherence to treatment, as well as well-being.