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Plasma HIV RNA level is associated with neurocognitive function among HIV-1-infected patients in Nigeria

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Abstract

Plasma HIV RNA level has been shown to correlate with HIV disease progression, morbidity, and mortality. We examined the association between levels of plasma HIV RNA and cognitive function among patients in Nigeria. A total of 179 HIV-1-infected participants with available plasma HIV RNA results and followed longitudinally for up to 2 years were included in this study. Blood samples from participants were used for the measurement of plasma HIV RNA and CD4+ T cell count. Utilizing demographic and practice effect-adjusted T scores obtained from a seven-domain neuropsychological test battery, cognitive status was determined by the global deficit score (GDS) approach, with a GDS ≥ 0.5 indicating cognitive impairment. In a longitudinal multivariable linear regression analysis, adjusting for CD4 cell count, Beck’s Depression Score, age, gender, years of education, and antiretroviral treatment status, global T scores decreased by 0.35 per log10 increase in plasma HIV RNA [p = 0.033]. Adjusting for the same variables in a multivariable logistic regression, the odds of neurocognitive impairment were 28% higher per log10 increase in plasma HIV RNA (OR 1.28 [95% CI 1.08, 1.51]; p = 0.005). There were statistically significant associations for the speed of information processing, executive, and verbal fluency domains in both linear and logistic regression analyses. We found a significant association between plasma HIV RNA levels and cognitive function in both baseline (cross-sectional) and longitudinal analyses. However, the latter was significantly attenuated due to weak association among antiretroviral-treated individuals.

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Financial Support

This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health grant no. R01 MH086356 (to William A. Blattner and Walter Royal, III) and by the National Institutes of Health Fogarty/AIDS International Training and Research Program grant no. 2D43TW001041-14 (training support to Jibreel Jumare).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA

    Jibreel Jumare, Samer S. El-Kamary, Laurence Magder, Laura Hungerford, Nicaise Ndembi, Patrick Dakum, Alash’le Abimiku, Man Charurat, William A. Blattner & Walter Royal III

  2. Institute of Human Virology Nigeria, Abuja, Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria

    Nicaise Ndembi, Ahmad Aliyu & Patrick Dakum

  3. University of California San Diego, School of Medicine, San Diego, CA, 92103, USA

    Anya Umlauf & Mariana Cherner

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  1. Jibreel Jumare
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  2. Samer S. El-Kamary
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  3. Laurence Magder
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  10. Alash’le Abimiku
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  12. William A. Blattner
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  13. Walter Royal III
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Correspondence to Walter Royal III.

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This work was presented in part at the 19th Annual International Meeting of the Institute of Human Virology, 23rd-26th October 2017, Baltimore, Maryland, USA (Abstract P-D6).

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Jumare, J., El-Kamary, S.S., Magder, L. et al. Plasma HIV RNA level is associated with neurocognitive function among HIV-1-infected patients in Nigeria. J. Neurovirol. 24, 712–719 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13365-018-0667-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13365-018-0667-8

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