Association of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) with Health Related Quality of Life and Disease State of HIV Infected Patients

The literature on the potential clinical and non-clinical benefits of participation in food assistance programs for people living with HIV in developed countries is scarce. We conducted a cross-sectional study of 165 HIV infected adults to determine the impact of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) on HIV disease status and health related quality of life (HQROL). There was no significant association between SNAP participation and disease status; CD4 cell count (beta = 0.02, P = 0.837) and viral load (beta = 0.02, P = 0.836). The mean scores for all the HRQOL domains were lower compared to the US population, but none were associated with SNAP participation. Higher scores on the general health domain, were marginally associated with SNAP participation (beta = 0.16, P = 0.071). In this study, SNAP participation was not significantly associated with less disease progression, and only marginally associated with quality of life among this population of HIV infected individuals.