The Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status as a screening strategy for HIV-Associated Neurocognitive Disorders

• Published in: AIDS care Vol. 33; no. 3; pp. 357 - 363
• Main Authors: Costaggiu, Diego, Pinna, Elisa, Serchisu, Luca, Barcellona, Doris, Piano, Paola, Ortu, Francesco, Marongiu, Francesco, Mandas, Antonella
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Taylor & Francis 04.03.2021; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Academic achievement; Aged; Aging - psychology; ANI (Asymptomatic Neurocognitive Impairment); Antiretroviral drugs; Clock drawing test; Cognition; Cognition Disorders - diagnosis; Cognition Disorders - psychology; Cognitive ability; Cognitive Dysfunction - diagnosis; Cognitive Dysfunction - etiology; Cognitive impairment; Delayed; Delayed memory; Dementia; Dementia - diagnosis; Dementia disorders; Dependent variables; Disorders; Emtricitabine; Evaluation; Female; HAD (HIV-Associated Dementia); HAND (HIV-Associated Neurocognitive Disorders); Health risk assessment; HIV; HIV Infections - complications; Human immunodeficiency virus; Humans; Immunology; Impairment; Male; Mass Screening - methods; Medical screening; Mental Status and Dementia Tests - statistics & numerical data; Mini-Mental State Examination; MND (Mild Neurocognitive Dementia); Neurocognition; Neuropsychological Tests - statistics & numerical data; Neuropsychology; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales - standards; RBANS (Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status); Tenofovir; HAD (HIV-Associated Dementia); HAND (HIV-Associated Neurocognitive Disorders); ANI (Asymptomatic Neurocognitive Impairment); RBANS (Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status); MND (Mild Neurocognitive Dementia)
• ISSN: 0954-0121; 1360-0451; 1360-0451
• DOI: 10.1080/09540121.2020.1742859

HIV-infected people are at risk for neurocognitive impairment (HIV-Associated Neurocognitive Disorders - HAND). To evaluate whether the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS), a widely used neurocognitive screening tool, could be a valid instrument for HAND identification, we evaluated 166 HIV-infected subjects. Our results showed that 96 (57.8%) HIV-infected scored RBANS Total Index Score <85 (at least one SD below the normal), 12 (7.2%) of them scored RBANS Total Index Score <70 (at least 2 SD below the normal, indicating a possible HIV-Associated Dementia). The more compromised areas were Immediate and Delayed Memory, and Attention. In the group with RBANS Total Index Score <85, there were significantly lower scores of Mini Mental State Examination (P = 0.0008), Clock Drawing Test (P = 0.0015) and higher score of Geriatric Depression Scale (P = 0.02) compared to the RBANS Total Index Score ≥85 group. Using a stepwise logistic regression, considering RBANS Total Index Score as dependent variable, we found a positive interaction with tenofovir/emtricitabine assumption (P = 0.027), Clock Drawing Test (P = 0.0125) and educational level (P = 0.0054). Being the viro-immunological markers not capable of predicting cognitive decline in HIV-infected individuals, our data suggest that RBANS may be a valid tool for the early identification of HIV-related cognitive impairment.