HIV-positive people who have their virus under control with treatment, high CD4s, and a low level of other negative health conditions still report a reduced quality of life compared with those who don’t have the virus. Researchers compared 52 HIV-positive individuals with 23 HIV-negative controls matched for age, sex, education, non-HIV health problems, body mass index (BMI), fitness level, activity level, and alcohol consumption. The control group had lower rates of depression and smoking. (Nicotine addiction is highly common among people living with HIV.) Those with HIV scored worse on measures for general health, physical functioning, ability to complete everyday tasks such as work or housework, mental health, vitality, distress over health, and cognitive functioning.In the HIV-positive group, being a woman and having depression were associated with worse overall mental health, while less education, a higher depression score and a higher BMI were associated with lower overall physical health.
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