Relationship of psychological morbidity and quality of life to illness-related disclosure among HIV-infected persons.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between HIV-related disclosure and quality of life, anxiety and depression among HIV-infected subjects in South India.


METHODS
68 subjects (35 men and 33 women) were assessed for quality of life and psychological morbidity using WHOQOL-BREF and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Details of disclosure were collected using a semistructured interview.


RESULTS
Certain disclosure-related variables appear to relate significantly with quality of life among HIV-infected persons. A positive outcome related to disclosure and extent to which a subject felt the need to disclose were significantly associated with higher scores on the total quality of life measure and in the social and environmental domains of the WHOQOL-BREF. No relationship was found between disclosure-related variables and psychological morbidity or other domains of quality of life. The type of disclosure (voluntary/without consent) did not appear to influence quality of life in this sample.


CONCLUSIONS
Disclosure-related variables may have an important influence on QOL in the context of HIV infection in India.
Chandra
Prabha S
PS
Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental health and Neuro Sciences, Bangalore 560 029, India. chandra@nimhans.kar.nic.in
Deepthivarma
S
S
Jairam
K R
KR
Thomas
Tinku
T
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D003863:Depression; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000208:ethnology; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D009017:Morbidity; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011788:Quality of Life; D014342:Truth Disclosure