Abstract
The Veterans Aging Cohort Study (VACS) Index has been associated with HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND) in some populations but has not been studied in sub-Saharan Africa. We investigated whether the VACS Index is associated with HAND in a rural population in Rakai, Uganda. HIV-infected (HIV+) adults on antiretroviral therapy underwent a neurocognitive battery for determination of HAND stage using Frascati criteria. VACS component scores were recorded for all participants. Out of 156 study participants, HAND stages were 49% normal cognition, 15% asymptomatic neurocognitive impairment, 31% minor neurocognitive disorder, and 7% HIV-associated dementia. There was no significant association between VACS Index and any HAND stage. In this first study of the VACS Index in sub-Saharan Africa, we found no association between VACS Index score and HAND.
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Funding
This study was supported by the National Institutes of Health (MH099733, MH075673, MH080661-08, L30NS088658, NS065729-05S2, P30AI094189-01A1) and the Johns Hopkins Center for Global Health.
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Written informed consent was obtained from all study participants. This study was approved by the Western Institutional Review Board, the Uganda Virus Research Institute Research and Ethics Committee, and the Uganda National Council for Science and Technology.
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Awori, V., Nakigozi, G., Kisakye, A. et al. The Veterans Aging Cohort Study Index is not associated with HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders in Uganda. J. Neurovirol. 26, 252–256 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13365-019-00806-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13365-019-00806-2