| Data from the Study to Understand the Natural History of HIV/AIDS in the Era of Effective Therapies were examined to assess whether there are associations between neurocognitive functioning and risky behaviors among people living with HIV. Among the 658 HIV positive study participants examined, median age was 41 years; 57% were white, 32% were black, and 11% were Hispanic or of another ethnicity; 77% were male; 53% were men who have sex with men; median baseline cd4 count was 464 cells/mm3; 78% had a viral load <400 copies/ml; 82% were on an antiviral regimen; 32% reported heavy drinking; 41% were current smokers; 25% were marijuana users; 25% reported using illicit drugs. Multivariate models were constructed for 5 cognitive assessments to examine associations with unsafe sexual behaviors, number of sexual partners, and substance use. A higher viral load was associated with a lower performance on identification (visual attention) and monitoring (divided attention) (p<.001). Having sex with two or more partners in the previous 3 months was associated with a higher monitoring score (p=.03). For Detection (psychomotor function), there was a significant interaction between marijuana use in the previous 30 days and heavy drinking (p=.01), indicating that those who used both substances scored better than those who only smoked marijuana or drank heavily. Males performed better than females on all 5 of the tasks. |
