Factors Associated with Quality of Life among People Living with HIV/AIDS in Mali, 2023

Introduction HIV is a source of concern, profoundly affecting the quality of life (QoL) of those affected. This study aimed to identify factors associated with the QoL of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV) in Bamako in 2023. Methods : A cross-sectional study including 722 PLHIV was conducted in Bamako from January to September 2023. Data on sociodemographic, clinical and therapeutic characteristics were collected. The WHOQOL-HIV-BREF instrument was used to assess domains in patients' quality of life. Linear regression was performed using SPSS25 software, with a significant level of 5%. Results The mean age of study population was 41.35 (SD = 0.45) years, and women represented 78%. PLHIV reported a diminished QoL, with an overall score of 9.718. Domain-specific scores were as follow: physical health (15.637); psychological health (12.289); social relations (12.929); and environment (11.717). A diminished QoL was associated with being female, older age, having a low monthly income, being divorced or widowed, and not having formal education. Clinical and paraclinical factors such as low body mass index, presence of symptoms, comorbidities, opportunistic infections, and therapeutic factors such as non-adherence to treatment were also linked with poor QoL. Conclusion People living with HIV in Bamako had poor QoL, with low scores in all domains. Several modifiable factors linked to this poor QoL such as low monthly income, body mass index, symptoms, comorbidities, opportunistic infections, and not adhering to antiretroviral treatment were identified. Efforts to improve care access, reduce socio-economic barriers, and increase public awareness of effective HIV/AIDS treatments are critical in improving the QoL for those living with HIV/AIDS.