DEPRESSION AND NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL PERFORMANCE IN ASYMPTOMATIC HIV-INFECTION

Objective: The authors examined the effect of depression on neuropsych ological performance in HIV-infected men. Previous studies have sugges ted that depression may account for the neuropsychological abnormaliti es observed in some patients with HIV infection, but few studies have specifically examined this question. Method. An extensive neuropsychol ogical test battery was administered to 121 HIV-seropositive asymptoma tic men and 42 HIV-seronegative comparison subjects. The seropositive subjects were grouped into depressed and non-depressed groups on the b asis of scores on the Beck Depression Inventory, Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, and Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R. Resu lts: Statistical comparisons revealed very few measures on which the d epressed seropositive subjects scored significantly worse than either of the nondepressed comparison groups. The nondepressed seropositive g roup differed consistently from the seronegative comparison subjects o n measures of verbal memory and dexterity. Conclusions: These data ind icate that the subtle neuropsychological abnormalities observed in som e asymptomatic HIV-seropositive subjects cannot be attributed to depre ssion. These data also indicate the advantages of a multifaceted appro ach to assessment of depression.