Factors associated with verbal fluency in older adults living with HIV in West Africa: A longitudinal study

• Published in: Tropical medicine & international health Vol. 28; no. 1; pp. 35 - 42
• Main Authors: Bernard, Charlotte, Font, Hélène, Diallo, Zélica, Ahonon, Richard, Tine, Judicaël Malick, Abouo, Franklin N'Guessan, Tanon, Aristophane, Messou, Eugène, Seydi, Moussa, Dabis, François, Dartigues, Jean‐François, Rekeneire, Nathalie
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-01-2023; Wiley-Blackwell; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: Aged; Aging; Antiretroviral agents; Antiretroviral therapy; cognition; Cognitive ability; Cote d'Ivoire; Demographic variables; Epidemiology; Female; Females; HIV; HIV Infections - complications; HIV Infections - drug therapy; Human health and pathology; Human immunodeficiency virus; Humans; Hypertension; Hypertension - complications; Infectious diseases; Life Sciences; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Middle Aged; Older people; Quality of Life; Regression analysis; Regression models; Santé publique et épidémiologie; verbal fluency; West Africa; Cote d'Ivoire; West Africa; ART; aging; HIV; cognition; verbal fluency; West Africa; Aging; Verbal fluency; Cognition
• ISSN: 1360-2276; 1365-3156
• DOI: 10.1111/tmi.13830

Objective
Verbal fluency decline, observed both in aging and HIV infection, has been related to lower quality of life. This study aimed to evaluate the factors associated with categorical fluency in people living with HIV (PLHIV) aged ≥60 years living in West Africa.
Methods
In this longitudinal study, PLHIV aged ≥60 years, on antiretroviral therapy (ART) for ≥6 months were included in three clinics (two in Côte d'Ivoire, one in Senegal) participating in the West Africa International epidemiological Databases to Evaluate AIDS (IeDEA) collaboration. Categorical fluency was evaluated with the Isaacs Set Test at 60 s at baseline and 2 years later. Factors associated with verbal fluency baseline performance and annual rates of changes were evaluated using multivariate linear regression models.
Results
Ninety‐seven PLHIV were included with 41 of them (42%) having a 2‐year follow‐up visit. The median age was 64 (62–67), 45.4% were female, and 89.7% had an undetectable viral load. The median annual change in categorical fluency scores was −0.9 (IQR: −2.7 to 1.8). Low baseline categorical fluency performance and its decline were associated with older age and being a female. Low educational level was associated with low baseline categorical fluency performance but not with its decline. Categorical fluency decline was also associated with marital status and hypertension.
Conclusions
Among older West African PLHIV, usual socio‐demographic variables and hypertension were the main factors associated with low categorical fluency performance and/or its decline. Interventions that focus on supporting cardiometabolic health are highly recommended to prevent cognitive disorders in PLHIV.