Various associations of aging and long-term HIV infection with different neurocognitive functions: detailed analysis of a Japanese nationwide multicenter study

Detailed information of the effects of age and long-term HIV infection on various neurocognitive function have not been fully evaluated yet. In a prospective Japanese nationwide multicenter study of 17 facilities (J-HAND study), 728 HIV-infected individuals completed 14 neuropsychological (NP) tests; Verbal Fluency (VF; category and letter), Digit Span (DS; forward and backward), Trail Making Test (TMT) A-B, Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test (ROCFT; copy, immediate and delayed recall), Story Memory Test (SMT; immediate and delayed recall), Digit Symbol Subset (DSS), and the Grooved Pegboard (GP; dominant and non-dominant). Multivariate analysis identified older age (≥ 50 years) to be associated with lower scores in all three ROCFT and GP dominant [odds ratio (OR) [95% confidence interval (CI)] 1.801 (1.217–2.664), 2402 (1.366–3.055), 2.691 (1.720–4.211), and 2.302 (1.145–4.628), respectively], whereas longer time since diagnosis was associated with a lower score in ROCFT (delayed recall) (OR 1.224, 95%CI 1.045–1.434). In VF letter, older age and longer time since diagnosis were associated with a better score [OR (95%CI) 0.449 (0.234–0.861) and 0.831 (0.692–0.997)]. In DSS and TMT-A, longer time since diagnosis was associated with a better score [OR (95%CI): 0.808 (0.670–0.973) and 0.795 (0.665–0.949), respectively]. Older patients in later years since diagnosis are at higher risk of visuospatial and motor impairments despite ART, whereas they are less likely to develop verbal impairment, suggesting that verbal function is relatively resistant to aging and long history of HIV infection under ART. These findings suggest that customtailored supports should be established based on the individual background.