Risk factors for symptomatic HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder in adults aged 50 and over attending a HIV clinic in Tanzania.
Patrick EatonThomas LewisJohanna Kellett-WrightAidan FlattSarah UrasaWilliam HowlettMarieke DekkerAloyce KisoliJane RogatheJessica ThorntonJudith McCartneyVanessa YarwoodCharlotte IrwinElizabeta B Mukaetova-LadinskaRufus AkinyemiWilliam K GrayRichard W WalkerCatherine L DotchinPhilip C MakupaAndrew-Leon S QuakerStella-Maria PaddickPublished in: International journal of geriatric psychiatry (2020)
In this setting, HIV-specific factors, such as nadir CD4 count, were not related to symptomatic HAND. The "legacy theory" of early central nervous system damage prior to initiation of anti-retroviral therapy initiation may contribute, only in part, to a multifactorial aetiology of HAND in older people. Social isolation and illiteracy were associated with symptomatic HAND, suggesting greater cognitive reserve might be protective.