Talk to the Veterans Crisis Line now
U.S. flag
An official website of the United States government

VA Health Systems Research

Go to the VA ORD website
Go to the QUERI website

HSR Citation Abstract

Search | Search by Center | Search by Source | Keywords in Title

National estimates of HIV-related symptom prevalence from the HIV Cost and Services Utilization Study.

Mathews WC, McCutchan JA, Asch S, Turner BJ, Gifford AL, Kuromiya K, Brown J, Shapiro MF, Bozzette SA. National estimates of HIV-related symptom prevalence from the HIV Cost and Services Utilization Study. Medical care. 2000 Jul 1; 38(7):750-62.

Dimensions for VA is a web-based tool available to VA staff that enables detailed searches of published research and research projects.

If you have VA-Intranet access, click here for more information vaww.hsrd.research.va.gov/dimensions/

VA staff not currently on the VA network can access Dimensions by registering for an account using their VA email address.
   Search Dimensions for VA for this citation
* Don't have VA-internal network access or a VA email address? Try searching the free-to-the-public version of Dimensions



Abstract:

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were (1) to estimate the prevalence, bothersomeness, and variation of HIV-related symptoms in a nationally representative sample of HIV-infected adults receiving medical care and (2) to evaluate new aggregate measures of symptom frequency and bothersomeness. METHODS: Beginning in January 1996, 76% of a multistage national probability sample of 4,042 HIV-infected adults receiving medical care were interviewed. Participants endorsed the presence and degree of bothersomeness of 14 HIV-related symptoms during the preceding 6 months. Sex-standardized symptom number and bothersomeness indices were constructed. After sampling weights were incorporated, symptom distributions were compared according to selected characteristics by analysis of variance and multiple linear regression modeling. RESULTS: Prevalence of specific symptoms in the reference population was as follows: fever/night sweats, 51.1%; diarrhea, 51%; nausea/anorexia, 49.8%; dysesthesias, 48.9%; severe headache, 39.3%; weight loss, 37.1%; vaginal symptoms, 35.6% of women; sinus symptoms, 34.8%; eye trouble, 32.4%; cough/dyspnea, 30.4%; thrush, 27.3%; rash, 24.3%; oral pain, 24.1%; and Kaposi's sarcoma, 4%. Aggregate measures were reliable (Cronbach's alpha > or = 0.75) and demonstrated construct validity when compared with other measures of disease severity. After adjustment for CD4 count, both symptom number and bothersomeness varied significantly (P < 0.05) by teaching status of care setting, exposure/risk group, educational achievement, sex, annual income, employment, and insurance category. However, the magnitude of variation was small. Symptoms were greatest in women and injection drug users, as well as in persons with lower educational levels, lower income, and Medicare enrollment or those who were followed up at teaching hospitals. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence and bothersomeness of HIV-related symptoms are substantial and vary by setting of care and patient characteristics.





Questions about the HSR website? Email the Web Team

Any health information on this website is strictly for informational purposes and is not intended as medical advice. It should not be used to diagnose or treat any condition.