Does Older Age Confer an Increased Risk of Incident Neurocognitive Disorders Among Persons Living with HIV Disease?

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to determine the combined effects of age and HIV infection on the risk of incident neurocognitive disorders. Method: A total of 146 neurocognitively normal participants were enrolled at baseline into one of four groups based on age (≤40 years and ≥50 years) and HIV serostatus resulting in 24 younger HIV−, 27 younger HIV+, 39 older HIV−, and 56 older HIV+ individuals. All participants were administered a standardized clinical neuropsychological battery at baseline and 14.3 ± .2 months later. Results: A logistic regression predicting incident neurocognitive disorders from HIV, age group, and their interaction was significant (χ²[4] = 13.56, p = .009), with a significant main effect of HIV serostatus (χ²[1] = 5.01, p = .025), but no main effect of age or age by HIV interaction (ps > .10). Specifically, 15.7% of the HIV+ individuals had an incident neurocognitive disorder as compared to 3.2% of the HIV− group (odds ratio = 4.8 [1.2, 32.6]). Among older HIV+ adults, lower baseline cognitive reserve, prospective memory, and verbal fluency each predicted incident neurocognitive disorders at follow-up. Conclusions: Independent of age, HIV infection confers a nearly fivefold risk for developing a neurocognitive disorder over approximately one year. Individuals with lower cognitive reserve and mild weaknesses in higher-order neurocognitive functions may be targeted for closer clinical monitoring and preventative measures.

Keywords:

• HIV
• Incidence
• Neuropsychology
• Aging
• Hepatitis C.

Acknowledgements

The San Diego HIV Neurobehavioral Research Program [HNRP] group is affiliated with the University of California, San Diego, the Naval Hospital, San Diego, and the Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System, and includes Director: Igor Grant, M.D.; Co-Directors: J. Hampton Atkinson, M.D., Ronald J. Ellis, M.D., Ph.D., and J. Allen McCutchan, M.D.; Center Manager: Thomas D. Marcotte, Ph.D.; Jennifer Marquie-Beck, M.P.H.; Melanie Sherman; Neuromedical Component: Ronald J. Ellis, M.D., Ph.D. (P.I.), J. Allen McCutchan, M.D., Scott Letendre, M.D., Edmund Capparelli, Pharm.D., Rachel Schrier, Ph.D., Debra Rosario, M.P.H., Neurobehavioral Component: Robert K. Heaton, Ph.D. (P.I.), Mariana Cherner, Ph.D., Jennifer E. Iudicello, Ph.D., David J. Moore, Ph.D., Erin E. Morgan, Ph.D., Matthew Dawson; Neuroimaging Component: Terry Jernigan, Ph.D. (P.I.), Christine Fennema-Notestine, Ph.D., Sarah L. Archibald, M.A., John Hesselink, M.D., Jacopo Annese, Ph.D., Michael J. Taylor, Ph.D.; Neurobiology Component: Eliezer Masliah, M.D. (P.I.), Cristian Achim, M.D., Ph.D., Ian Everall, FRCPsych., FRCPath., Ph.D. (Consultant); Neurovirology Component: Douglas Richman, M.D., (P.I.), David M. Smith, M.D.; International Component: J. Allen McCutchan, M.D., (P.I.); Developmental Component: Cristian Achim, M.D., Ph.D.; (P.I.), Stuart Lipton, M.D., Ph.D.; Participant Accrual and Retention Unit: J. Hampton Atkinson, M.D. (P.I.); Data Management Unit: Anthony C. Gamst, Ph.D. (P.I.), Clint Cushman (Data Systems Manager); Statistics Unit: Ian Abramson, Ph.D. (P.I.), Florin Vaida, Ph.D., Reena Deutsch, Ph.D., Anya Umlauf, M.S.

The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Navy, Department of Defense, nor the United States Government. The authors thank Marizela Cameron and P. Katie Riggs for their help with study management and Donald Franklin and Stephanie Corkran for their help with data processing.

Disclosure statement

The authors have no financial conflicts of interest related to this work.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health under grants [R01-MH073419], [T32-DA31098], [L30-DA0321202], [P30-MH62512], [K24-AG026431].