ISSN 2736-1748
African Journal of AIDS and HIV Research ISSN 2326-2691 Vol. 8 (7), pp. 001-007, July, 2020. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Esthetic self-perception of HIV/AIDS patients under antiretroviral therapy suffering from lipodystrophic syndrome and its influence on the quality of life in a city of the Brazilian northeast
Carla Glenda Souza da Silva* and João Carlos Alchieri
Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), Brazil.
Accepted 19 April, 2020
Abstract
This paper aims to evaluate the impact of lipodystrophic syndrome (LDS) on the quality of life and esthetic self-perception of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) under highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). This is an exploratory observational study, with quantitative and qualitative data, using world health organization quality of life instrument – HIV (WHOQOL-HIV BREF) and esthetic perception and evaluation of fat redistribution in patients with HIV/AIDS as instruments. The sample consisted of 48 PLWHA, aged between 32 and 66 years. 89.6% of PLWHA were interested in changing parts of their bodies perceived as altered or compromised by LDS, as reinforced by the fact that they "realize" (35.4%) and "feel" (35.4%) that they are differently perceived by other people. With respect to quality of life, spirituality, religion and personal beliefs obtained the highest mean (14.7) with SD = 4.0. This study suggests that HIV infection and the presence of LDS, based on the self-perception of the participants, may affect not only biomedical aspects, but psychosocial and spiritual ones as well, intervening in the quality of life of these individuals.
Key words: Lipodystrophic syndrome, quality of life, esthetic self-perception, HIV/AIDS.