Cognitive Assessment of Young Adults Before and After Initiation of Combination Antiretroviral Therapy

In the determination and monitoring of neurocognitive disorders in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive individuals, there is a need for significantly more practical methods which provide results in a shorter time than the tests that require challenging and specialized expertise. This study aimed to evaluate cognitive functions and the factors affecting them in naïve HIV-positive patients using by Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) test before and after the initiation of combination antiretroviral therapy.

HIV-positive, treatment-naïve patients monitored between January-June 2017 were included in the study. The MoCA test was performed at the beginning and the sixth month of the treatment.

Forty male patients were included in the study. The mean age was calculated as 29.1±4.0. When the factors affecting the MoCA score were examined, there was a significant relationship between the education level and the MoCA score. Smoking, using alcohol, and substance did not have a significant impact on baseline MoCA values. A significant correlation was found between cluster differentiation 4 (CD4) count and HIV RNA level and attention function. There was a significant increase in the total MoCA score and the MoCA subgroup scores at the end of the sixth month of the treatment.

MoCA test is one of the most practical tests that can be applied in a short time period, and it was found useful in evaluating the changes in the cognitive functions of HIV-positive patients during antiretroviral treatment.