Quality of Life Suffers When ART Is Stopped

In a substudy of the SMART trial, quality of life was demonstrably worse with treatment interruption than with continuous antiretroviral therapy.

Given the known side effects of antiretroviral therapy (ART), treatment interruption has been hypothesized to improve quality of life. However, this theory was recently disproven in a substudy of the SMART trial, which compared outcomes of continuous ART with outcomes of CD4-guided episodic ART.

A total of 1225 SMART participants in the U.S. completed standardized quality-of-life assessments at baseline, at months 4, 8, and 12, and then annually thereafter. At baseline, 76% of participants were receiving ART, 50% reported very good or excellent health, and the median CD4 count was 575 cells/mm³.

During a mean follow-up of 2.4 years, whenever a difference arose in quality-of-life measures, the results favored the continuous-therapy group over …

Reviewing Author

Keith Henry, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardViiV Advisory Board

Editorial BoardsJAIDS: Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes

Keith Henry, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardViiV Advisory Board

Editorial BoardsJAIDS: Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes

Quality of Life Suffers When ART Is Stopped

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Reviewing Author