HIV-Related Fatigue Linked to Impaired Cognitive Function

[Jim Allen]

Another thing to look forward to.

In Full - POZ.com June 1, 2022
https://www.poz.com/article/hivrelated-fatigue-linked-impaired-cognitive-function

In Short:

People aging with HIV face many cognitive impacts of HIV-associated fatigue, but a study published in the journal AIDS suggests that learning ability isn’t one of them.

Laura Campbell, a graduate student in the San Diego State University/University of California San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, and colleagues recruited 69 people living with HIV and 36 HIV-negative people between ages 50 and 74.

They asked participants to take a battery of neuropsychological tests, perform some basic tasks of daily functioning and complete a questionnaire asking about everything from depression and anxiety to sleep quality and fatigue.

Participants living with HIV had significantly greater fatigue, with a median fatigue score of 32, compared with a median of 12 for HIV-negative people—nearly triple the score. And 38% of those with HIV met the criteria for severe fatigue, compared with 6% of HIV-negative people. Perhaps not coincidentally, HIV-positive people were much more likely to have a prescription for a sleep medication than their HIV-negative peers (19% versus 1%).

People with HIV scored lower than HIV-negative people on nearly every cognitive task, including executive function and speed of information processing to memory recall and complex motor skills. Sometimes these reductions were minor—for instance, a 0.13 decrease in scores for complex motor skills and a 0.2 decrease for working memory compared with HIV-negative people. But some were more pronounced. Verbal fluency among those living with HIV, for example, was 1.7 points lower compared with HIV-negative people.

“Fatigue is associated with cognition, particularly measures with a speeded component, and self-reported everyday functioning in older [people with HIV],” they concluded. “Findings suggest that fatigue is important to assess and consider in the context of aging with HIV.”

[Loa111]

Interesting. This is not a scientific statement by any means but I know within myself since I had an advanced DX, got sick, got treatment, & recovered, for sure my mind, mental sharpness & cognitive ability is just not the same as before. It is hard for me to explain the hows or whats of this, however I notice it & know within myself.