Neuropsychological performance of HIV-1 infected men with major depression

This study sought to determine if human immunodeficiency virus-type 1 (HIV-1) infected depressed men were more likely to be neuropsychologically impaired than their nondepressed counterparts. Subjects were 47 HIV-1 infected men who met DSM-III-R criteria for current major depressive disorder (MDD) and 47 HIV-1 infected nondepressed male controls (M age = 34.2 years) equated on HIV-1 disease severity, demographics, and drug use. The psychiatric interview included the Structured Clinical Inventory for the DSM-III-R, and Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression. The neuropsychological battery included tests covering 8 functional domains based on an expanded Halstead-Reitan Battery. The medical assessment included a history and physical examination, immunologic staging, and evaluation of prescription and recreational drug use. Prevalence of global neuropsychological impairment in the two groups (depressed vs. control) did not differ [53% vs. 38% respectively; chi(2)(1, N = 94) = 2.11, p > .05]. While syndromically depressed patients performed less well than nondepressed individuals on memory tests [delayed retention portions of the Story Memory Test: F(1,91) = 5.34, p < .05; and Figure Memory Test: F(1,90) = 4.16, p < .05], the majority of depressed participants (64%) did not have clinically impaired memory. No relationship between neuropsychological impairment and severity of depression was observed. The results suggest that, while HIV-1 infected men with major depression may perform more poorly than nondepressed men on some aspects of memory tasks, they are not more likely to evidence clinically significant neurocognitive impairment. (JINS, 1997, 3, 457-463.)