Investigating Neurocognitive Functions in People Living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus: A Cross-sectional Study from an Indian Tertiary Health Care Institution.

INTRODUCTION

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-associated neurocognitive deficits (HAND) distress a substantial proportion of people living with HIV (PLHIV). The present research intends to examine the neurocognitive functions in PLHIV, compared to healthy volunteers.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

About 48 HIV patients were recruited from one tertiary health care center, while 24 matched healthy volunteers were enrolled as controls from the community. Neurocognitive functions were assessed using the Hindi Mental Status Examination (HMSE), Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination (ACE)-III, and International HIV Dementia Scale (IHDS) questionnaires, along with the computer-based color-word Stroop cognitive task.

RESULTS

The total HMSE scores (p = 0.0047), IHDS scores (p = 0.0002), and ACE-III scores (p < 0.0001) were statistically lower in PLHIV, compared to controls. The specific domain scores of ACE-III in PLHIV were also statistically lower compared to the control group, with greater differences seen in memory (p < 0.0001) and language (p = 0.0012) domains. Similarly, higher reaction time was seen in PLHIV in comparison with the control group (p < 0.0001) during Stroop cognitive task performance, while a statistically significant difference in accuracy was not observed among groups. Further, among PLHIV, reaction time had a significant positive correlation with years since diagnosis of HIV infection (p = 0.006, r = 0.39, Spearman correlation).

CONCLUSION

Observations demonstrate neurocognitive deficits in PLHIV across multiple domains. Our study, therefore, offers insights into the neurocognitive manifestations of HIV infection, which could facilitate tailored preventive and therapeutic interventions by healthcare providers to enhance the overall quality of life for PLHIV.