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Empiric neurocognitive performance profile discovery and interpretation in HIV infection

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Abstract

The measurement and determinants of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND) are under intense debate. We used latent profile analysis (LPA) and machine learning to define neurocognitive performance profiles and identify their associated risk factors in HIV patients receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART). Neurocognitive performance was assessed by a multidomain neuropsychological test battery. LPA was used to define individual neurocognitive profiles. Random forest analyses (RFA) identified the most important factors distinguishing each profile. Three profiles emerged from the LPA: profile 1 (P1, n = 159) achieved the highest performance, while profile 2 (P2, n = 163) had lowered executive functions and verbal memory, and profile 3 (P3, n = 59) was globally impaired. RFA achieved good prediction (area under the curve ≥ 0.80) only for global impairment (P3). Non-North American descent was the dominant predictor of P3, followed by factors coinciding with non-North American descent (female sex and toxoplasma seropositivity). Additional predictors included unemployment, current depressive symptoms, lower nadir CD4, and longstanding HIV. Restricting analyses to North Americans pointed to the additional importance of ART achieving high CSF levels and older age in prediction of P3. HAND diagnoses were most common in the globally impaired profile (P3 = 89.8%), followed by the group with reduced higher-order neurocognitive performance (P2 = 16.6%). Thus, implementation of LPA and RFA empirically distinguished three distinct neurocognitive performance profiles in this HIV-infected cohort while also highlighting potential risk factors and their relative importance to neurocognitive impairment. These data-driven analytical methods pointed to discernible demographic, HIV- and treatment-related risk factor constellations in patients born outside and within North America that might influence diagnostic and therapeutic decisions.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the patients and the staff at the Southern Alberta Clinic for their participation in the study. The authors further thank Roger A. Dixon, Kirstie McDermott, and Matthew Johnson for their statistical help.

Funding

This study was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Emerging Team Grant (RFN: 125271) (CP, MJG, EF).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, 1E.1 WC Mackenzie Health Sciences Centre, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2R7, Canada

    Daniela Gomez, Christopher Power & Esther Fujiwara

  2. Department of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada

    Christopher Power & M. John Gill

  3. Southern Alberta HIV Clinic, Alberta Health Services, Calgary, AB, Canada

    M. John Gill & Noshin Koenig

  4. Department of Computing Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada

    Roberto Vega

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  1. Daniela Gomez
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  6. Esther Fujiwara
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Correspondence to Esther Fujiwara.

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The study was approved by the University of Calgary, Conjoint Health Research Ethics Board, CHREB13-0615.

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Gomez, D., Power, C., Gill, M.J. et al. Empiric neurocognitive performance profile discovery and interpretation in HIV infection. J. Neurovirol. 25, 72–84 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13365-018-0685-6

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