Authors: Reynolds, N.¹; Neidig, J.²; Wu, A.³; Gifford, A.⁴; Holmes, W.⁵

Source: AIDS Care, Volume 18, Number 7, October 2006 , pp. 663-673(11)

Publisher: Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group

Abstract:

This study was conducted to identify and describe the perceived morphologic changes of body fat redistribution and related distress among persons taking combination antiretroviral therapy. Six focus group interviews were conducted in four different US cities with men and women ( n =58) who reported antiretroviral-related symptoms of body fat loss and/or gain. Interview data were audiotaped, transcribed verbatim and systematically analysed using inductive techniques. Physical discomfort and impairment and psychological and social distress were reported across sex, sexual orientation and geographic subgroups. While participants acknowledged that antiretroviral drugs were keeping them alive, there was tension between the desire for life-sustaining treatment and optimal quality of life. Some participants engaged in harmful heath behaviours in an attempt to control bodily changes (e.g. non-adherence to antiretroviral regimen). Participants feared that fat loss represented disease progression and worried that visible changes would lead to unintentional disclosure of their HIV status. Although a potential source of support, healthcare providers were commonly perceived as ignoring and, in so doing, discrediting patient distress. Participants recognised the limitations of current lipodystrophy treatment options, yet a cure for the syndrome seemed less important to them in the short term than simply being listened to and the powerful, but oblique sources of distress addressed.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09540120500287051

Affiliations: 1: Ohio State University College of Nursing and AIDS Clinical Trials Unit, Columbus, OH 2: Ohio State University, Office of Responsible Research Practices, Columbus, OH 3: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 4: Veterans Affairs, San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA4University of California San Diego School of Medicine, San Diego, CA 5: Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center, PAand 5University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, PA, USA

Publication date: 2006-10-01

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