Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 May 19;16(5):e0251944.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0251944. eCollection 2021.

Quality of life in people living with HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder: A scoping review study

Kate Alford  1 , Stephanie Daley  2 , Sube Banerjee  3 , Jaime H Vera  1   4   5
Affiliations

Quality of life in people living with HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder: A scoping review study

Kate Alford et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Quality of life (QoL) is recognized as an essential end point in the disease management of chronic conditions such as HIV with calls to include good QoL as a 'fourth 90' in the 90-90-90 testing and treatment targets introduced by World Health Organization in 2016. Cognitive impairments impact a broad spectrum of experiences and are a common issue effecting people living with HIV (PLWH). Despite this, few studies have examined QoL in PLWH who also have a cognitive disorder. This study aimed to synthesize and describe what is known about QoL in those living with HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND). A scoping review of peer-reviewed literature was conducted to identify how QoL has been investigated and measured in PLWH with HAND, and how PLWH with HAND report and describe their QoL. We searched PsychInfo, Medline, Scopus, and Web of Science along with hand-searching reference lists from relevant studies found. Included studies were those published in English after 1st January 2003 which included PLWH with cognitive impairment not due to other pre-existing conditions. Fifteen articles met criteria for inclusion. Two studies measured QoL as a primary aim, with others including QoL assessment as part of a broader battery of outcomes. The MOS-HIV and SF-36 were the most commonly used measures of overall QoL, with findings generally suggestive of poorer overall QoL in PLWH with HAND, compared to PLWH without cognitive impairment. Studies which examined dimensions of QoL focused exclusively on functionality, level of independence, and psychological QoL domains. There is a considerable dearth of research examining QoL in PLWH with HAND. The initiatives which advocate for healthy aging and improved QoL in PLWH must be extended to include and understand the experiences those also living with cognitive impairment. Research is needed to understand the broad experiential impacts of living with these two complex, chronic conditions, to ensure interventions are meaningful to patients and potential benefits are not missed.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

J H V reports honoraria and research grants in trials sponsored by Merck, Janssen Cilag, Piramal and Gilead Sciences. SB reports grants and personal fees from Abbvie, personal fees and non-financial support from Lilly, personal fees from Eleusis, personal fees from Daval International, personal fees from Boehringer-Ingelheim, personal fees from Axovant, personal fees from Lundbeck, personal feesfrom Nutricia, outside the submitted work; he has been employed by the Department of Health for England. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. PRISMA flowchart.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. HIV.gov. Overview: Data & Trends: Global Statistics https://www.hiv.gov/hiv-basics/overview/data-and-trends/global-statistic... [
    1. Alford K, Banerjee S, Nixon E, O’Brien C, Pounds O, Butler A, et al.. Assessment and Management of HIV-Associated Cognitive Impairment: Experience from a Multidisciplinary Memory Service for People Living with HIV. Brain Sci. 2019;9(2). 10.3390/brainsci9020037 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Morgan EE, Woods SP, Rooney A, Perry W, Grant I, Letendre SL, et al.. Intra-individual variability across neurocognitive domains in chronic hepatitis C infection: elevated dispersion is associated with serostatus and unemployment risk. Clin Neuropsychol. 2012;26(4):654–74. 10.1080/13854046.2012.680912 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Woods SP, Weber E, Weisz BM, Twamley EW, Grant I, Group HNRP. Prospective memory deficits are associated with unemployment in persons living with HIV infection. Rehabil Psychol. 2011;56(1):77–84. 10.1037/a0022753 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Gorman AA, Foley JM, Ettenhofer ML, Hinkin CH, van Gorp WG. Functional consequences of HIV-associated neuropsychological impairment. Neuropsychology review. 2009;19(2):186–203. 10.1007/s11065-009-9095-0 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types