title: Poor health-related quality of life and abnormal psychosocial adjustment in Italian children with perinatal HIV infection receiving highly active antiretroviral treatment.
abstract: To evaluate health-related quality of life (HRQL), social competence, and behavioral problems in children with perinatal HIV infection receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), a cross-sectional study was performed at the Department of Pediatrics, University of Brescia. We evaluated HRQL, social competence, and behavioral problems in 27 HIV-infected children compared with age and sex-matched control subjects using the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), respectively. On the PedsQL 4.0 Generic Core Scale, HIV-infected subjects displayed significantly reduced physical (p=0.043) and psychosocial health (p=0.021) functioning, particularly at school (p=0.000), compared with healthy subjects, resulting in a significantly reduced total score (p=0.013). Assessment of social competence and the behavioral features of HIV-infected children by means of the CBCL revealed severe limitations of functioning in HIV-infected children who had impaired social ability. Children with HIV-RNA above the threshold level of 50 had higher scores on the CBCL delinquent behavior (p=0.021) and school competence (p=0.025) subsets. Although the introduction of HAART regimens has prolonged the survival of HIV-infected children, other factors, including disease morbidity and familial and environmental conditions, negatively affect their quality of life, thereby contributing to increased risk for behavioral problems.
authors.affiliation: Cattedra di Neuropsichiatria dell'Infanzia e dell'Adolescenza, Universita di Brescia, Brescia, Italy.
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bomba
authors.forename: Renata
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nacinovich
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Oggiano
authors.forename: Morena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cassani
authors.forename: Liliana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Baushi
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bertulli
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Longhi
authors.forename: Simonetta
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Coppini
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Parrinello
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Plebani
authors.forename: Raffaele
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Badolato
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D023241:Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active; D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000523:psychology*; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology; D012920:Social Behavior Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires