UC San Diego

We examined how the discrepancy between felt age (FA) and chronological age (CA) differed by HIV serostatus across three age cohorts and related to health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Participants included 119 people living with HIV (PLWH) and 98 uninfected adults, ages 36–65 years. FA was assessed by asking, “How old/young do you feel?” HRQoL was measured using the Medical Outcome Study Short Form Health Survey. Linear regressions examined the interaction between HIV serostatus and HRQoL on FA discrepancy scores (FADS; i.e., difference between CA and FA). 72.3% of PLWH felt younger than their CA, which was lower than the uninfected group (92.9%; p < .001). PLWH had lower FADS than the uninfected group (p = .050), particularly in the 46- to 55-year-old cohort (p = .015). The positive association between physical HRQoL and FADS was stronger among PLWH (β = 0.14, p = .024). A high proportion of PLWH reported feeling younger than their CA, and this perception was related to higher physical HRQoL.