Weight gain and health-related quality of life in people living with HIV on antiretroviral therapy in the United States

Abstract

Adverse weight gain has been reported to be associated with certain antiretroviral drugs. This study evaluated the association between weight gain and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among people living with HIV (PLWH) using real-world data. Data were derived from the Adelphi HIV Disease Specific Programme (DSP)™, a real-world, cross-sectional survey of physicians and virologically suppressed PLWH under their treatment, conducted in the U.S. between June 2021 and July 2022. Physicians reported demographic and clinical characteristics of PLWH, including weight. Health-related quality of life was assessed using the Impact of Weight on Quality of Life–Lite-Clinical Trials (IWQoL-Lite-CT) questionnaire. Propensity score matching (PSM) and weighted regression was utilized to compare health-related quality of life in PLWH with 12-month weight gain of ≥5% and <5%. Among 225 PLWH (≥5%: 54 and <5%:171) analysed, mean age was 46.3 years, 80.1% were male, 31.0% Black, mean Charlson Comorbidity Index was 4.2 (SD = 0.5). After PSM and regression adjustment, PLWH with ≥5% weight gain had on average, a lower IWQoL-Lite-CT composite score (65.8 vs 74.4; p < 0.001) and sub-domain scores, indicating poorer quality of life. The study findings demonstrate the humanistic impact of weight gain in PLWH, highlighting the need to consider weight gain in the management of HIV, including selection of appropriate antiretroviral therapy.