Abstract
Objectives: To explore the quality of life (QOL) status and related factors in young human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected men who have sex with men (MSM) aged 16 to 24 years in Zhejiang province. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 22 counties of Zhejiang province, and 395 subjects took part in our research. A t-test, one-way Analysis of variance (ANOVA), and multivariate stepwise linear regression analysis were used to investigate the factors associated with QOL in young HIV-infected MSM. Results: The total score on the QOL was 86.86 ± 14.01. The multivariate stepwise linear regression analysis revealed that self-efficacy and discrimination were associated with all domains on the QOL assessment, monthly income was associated with QOL for all domains except spirituality and consistent condom use during oral sex with men in the past three months was associated with QOL for all domains except the relationship domain. Those individuals within the group of young HIV-infected MSM who have higher self-efficacy, a higher monthly income, greater social support, safer sexual behaviors, a higher level of education, and a higher cluster of differentiation 4 (CD4) count have a better QOL. Conclusions: These findings suggest that to improve the QOL of this population, greater emphasis should be placed on improving social support, self-efficacy, and antiviral therapy adherence and on reducing discrimination, disease progression, and high-risk behaviors.
Highlights
Men who have sex with men (MSM) have become the group with the highest risk of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, exhibiting the fastest growth in HIV epidemic in China [1,2].The MSM infection ratio in men aged 15 to 24 years old has increased progressively in recent years [3].In 2017, more than 60 percent of the individuals newly infected with HIV were aged 15 to 24 years old among MSM in the Zhejiang province
Lan et al.’s study (2015) [33] concluded that subjective support and the use of social support were positively correlated with Quality of life (QOL). These findings indicate that there should be a focus on improving the social support provided to young HIV-infected MSM because increased social support can help individuals more effectively cope with their difficult situation [42]
We found a negative association between young MSM who were in the AIDS stage and the total QOL score, in the score for the psychological domain
Summary
Men who have sex with men (MSM) have become the group with the highest risk of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, exhibiting the fastest growth in HIV epidemic in China [1,2].The MSM infection ratio in men aged 15 to 24 years old has increased progressively in recent years [3].In 2017, more than 60 percent of the individuals newly infected with HIV were aged 15 to 24 years old among MSM in the Zhejiang province. Men who have sex with men (MSM) have become the group with the highest risk of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, exhibiting the fastest growth in HIV epidemic in China [1,2]. The MSM infection ratio in men aged 15 to 24 years old has increased progressively in recent years [3]. In 2017, more than 60 percent of the individuals newly infected with HIV were aged 15 to 24 years old among MSM in the Zhejiang province. High unprotected anal intercourse (UAI) behaviors, low condom use, and low HIV testing increased the risk of HIV infection in young. MSM [4,5], and high risk behaviors put them at risk of HIV infection. Due to the application of a highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), the mortality rate from
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