title: Improved quality of life with immediate versus deferred initiation of antiretroviral therapy in early asymptomatic HIV infection.
abstract: To determine if immediate compared to deferred initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in healthy persons living with HIV had a more favorable impact on health-related quality of life (QOL), or self-assessed physical, mental, and overall health status.
  
  
  
  QOL was measured in the Strategic Timing of Antiretroviral Therapy study, which randomized healthy ART-naive persons living with HIV with CD4 cell counts above 500 cells/μl from 35 countries to immediate versus deferred ART.
  
  
  
  At baseline, months 4 and 12, then annually, participants completed a visual analog scale (VAS) for 'perceived current health' and the Short-Form 12-Item Health Survey version 2 from which the following were computed: general health perception; physical component summary (PCS); and mental component summary (MCS); the VAS and general health were rated from 0 (lowest) to 100 (highest).
  
  
  
  QOL at study entry was high (mean scores: VAS = 80.9, general health = 72.5, PCS = 53.7, MCS = 48.2). Over a mean follow-up of 3 years, changes in all QOL measures favored the immediate group (P < 0.001); estimated differences were as follows: VAS = 1.9, general health = 3.6, PCS = 0.8, MCS = 0.9. When QOL changes were assessed across various demographic and clinical subgroups, treatment differences continued to favor the immediate group. QOL was poorer in those experiencing primary outcomes; however, when excluding those with primary events, results remained favorable for immediate ART recipients.
  
  
  
  In an international randomized trial in ART-naive participants with above 500 CD4 cells/μl, there were modest but significant improvements in self-assessed QOL among those initiating ART immediately compared to deferring treatment, supporting patient-perceived health benefits of initiating ART as soon as possible after an HIV diagnosis.
authors.affiliation: aUniversity of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota bDenver Public Health, Denver, Colorado, USA cDesmond Tutu HIV Foundation, Cape Town, South Africa dKirby Institute, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia eRoyal Berkshire Hospital, Reading, Berkshire, UK fCentre Universitaire de Recherche Clinique, Bamako, Mali gInstitute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium hHospital Universitario de la Princessa, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Alan R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Lifson
authors.forename: Birgit
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Grund
authors.forename: Edward M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Gardner
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kaplan
authors.forename: Eileen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Denning
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Engen
authors.forename: Catherine L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Carey
authors.forename: Fabian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Sounkalo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dao
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Florence
authors.forename: Jesus
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sanz
authors.forename: Sean
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Emery
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D044966:Anti-Retroviral Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D023241:Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active / Q000379:methods*; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011788:Quality of Life; D055502:Secondary Prevention; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D044966:Anti-Retroviral Agents