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

Kate Alford; Stephanie Daley; Sube Banerjee; Jaime H Vera

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0251944

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

PLoS One. 2021 May 19;16(5):e0251944. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0251944. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Kate Alford¹, Stephanie Daley², Sube Banerjee³, Jaime H Vera^{1

4

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Affiliations

¹ Department of Global Health and Infection, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, University of Sussex, Falmer, East Sussex, United Kingdom.
² Centre for Dementia Studies, University of Sussex, Falmer, East Sussex, United Kingdom.
³ Faculty of Health, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, United Kingdom.
⁴ Department of Medicine, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, University of Sussex, Falmer, East Sussex, United Kingdom.
⁵ Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust, Brighton, East Sussex, United Kingdom.

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.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Adult
Cognitive Dysfunction / complications*
Cognitive Dysfunction / psychology*
Diagnostic Tests, Routine
Female
Functional Status
HIV Infections / complications*
HIV Infections / psychology*
HIV Infections / virology
HIV*
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Patient Reported Outcome Measures
Quality of Life / psychology*

Grants and funding

The study was funded as part of a PhD fellowship for KA by Brighton and Sussex Medical School, The Centre for Dementia Studies, and Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. The funders had no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.