NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL ABNORMALITIES AMONG HIV-INFECTED INDIVIDUALS IN A COMMUNITY-BASED SAMPLE

The purpose of this study was to determine the nature and extent of ne uropsychological abnormalities among HIV-infected individuals and to e xamine the interrelationships between measures of cognitive functions and the factors that predict neuropsychological abnormalities. The stu dy focused on cross-sectional data gathered in a multidisciplinary res earch clinic from 200 HIV-infected (HIVS) men and women recruited from primary medical care settings. Composite scores representing six cogn itive domains were derived from the neuropsychological test data. Scor es of memory, fluency, spatial, and frontal functions could be predict ed by independent assessment of participants' verbal and psychomotor s peed abilities. Basic verbal ability itself was predicted by education , race, and handedness, whereas speed was predicted by age, CD4+ cell counts, and a lifetime history of major depression. This model of effe cts is consistent with the hypothesis that psychomotor slowing is cent ral to mild cognitive disorder in HIV infection and that such changes are associated with markers of the severity of systemic infection.