Determinants of cognitive health in Indonesian HIV patients beginning antiretroviral therapy

• DOI: 10.1007/s13365-019-00787-2
• Publication Date: 2019-08-05T16:05:25Z
• Authors: Riwanti Estiasari; Ibnu Aryanto; Silvia Lee; Setia Pramana; Samsuridjal Djauzi; Patricia Price
• Keywords: Cytomegalovirus

Cognitive impairment has been described in people living with HIV and stable on antiretroviral therapy (ART), but has not been monitored in young adults beginning ART with a high burden of cytomegalovirus. We recruited 80 subjects beginning ART with < 200 CD4 T cells/μL in Jakarta, Indonesia. Cognitive function (Z-scores) began low but improved on ART, stabilizing after 6 months with improvements in all domains except memory function. The burden of cytomegalovirus persisting on ART (assessed via antibody levels) correlated inversely with Z-scores (notably memory function) at baseline. In linear mixed models, improvements in Z-scores were influenced by age, education, and CD4 T cell counts.