Quality of life and body image in the assessment of psychological impact of lipodystrophy: validation of the Italian version of assessment of body change and distress questionnaire

Lipodystrophy (LD) includes morphologic changes that are distressing to patients with HIV. We tested the validity of an Italian version of the Assessment of Body Change and Distress (ABCD) questionnaire and analysed its relationship to physical and mental aspects of Health-Related Quality of Life. Two hundred and fifty-two patients completed the questionnaires. Construct validity of the ABCD was tested against the MOS-HIV Health Survey, body mass-index (BMI) and CD4+ T-lymphocyte counts. Cronbach's alpha for the ABCD total score was 0.94. The ABCD showed the hypothesized moderate correlations to MOS-HIV scales and clinical variables. Preliminary evidence supports the reliability and validity of the Italian version of the ABCD in people with HIV and LD. This questionnaire may be useful to identify people experiencing greater impact of LD, or to evaluate the impact of interventions to treat LD such as plastic surgery.