Quality of life profile and psychometric properties of the EQ-5D-5L in HIV/AIDS patients

OBJECTIVES We assessed health-related quality of life (HRQOL), its associated factors, and examined measurement properties of the EuroQol - 5 Dimensions - 5 Levels (EQ-5D-5L) in HIV/AIDS patients. METHODS A cross-sectional multi-site survey was conducted in 1016 patients (age: 35.4 ± 7.0 years; 63.8% male) in three epicenters of Vietnam. Internal consistency reliability, convergent validity, and discriminative validity of the EQ-5D-5L and a visual analogue scale (VAS) were evaluated. Tobit censored regression models were used to identify predictors of HRQOL in HIV/AIDS patients. RESULTS The mean EQ-5D-5L single index and VAS were 0.65 (95% Confidence Interval (CI) = 0.63; 0.67) and 70.3 (95% CI = 69.2; 71.5). Cronbach's alpha of five dimensions was 0.85. EQ-5D-5L has a good convergent validity with VAS (0.73). It discriminated patients at different HIV/AIDS stages, duration of ART, and CD4 cell count. Predictors of poorer HRQOL included being female, lower education level, unemployment, alcohol and drug use, CD4<200 cells/mL, and advanced HIV/AIDS stages. CONCLUSION The EQ-5D-5L has good measurement properties in HIV/AIDS patients and holds potentials for monitoring ART outcomes. Integration of HRQOL measurement using EQ-5D-5L in HIV/AIDS clinical practice could be helpful for economic evaluation of HIV/AIDS interventions.