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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
Normative scores for a brief neuropsychological battery for the detection of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND) among South Africans
BMC Research Notes, Volume 3, Article 28, Year 2010
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Description
Background. There is an urgent need to more accurately diagnose HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND) in Africa. Rapid screening tests for HIV-associated dementia are of limited utility due to variable sensitivity and specificity. The use of selected neuropsychological tests is more appropriate, but norms for HIV seronegative people are not readily available for sub-Saharan African populations. We sought to derive normative scores for two commonly used neuropsychological tests that generate four test scores - namely the Trail-Making Test (Parts A and B) and the Digit Span Test [Forward (DSF) and Backward (DSB)]. To assess memory and recall, we used the memory item of the International HIV Dementia Scale (IHDS). Findings. One hundred and ten HIV seronegative participants were assessed at McCord Hospital, Durban, South Africa between March 3rd and October 31st, 2008. We excluded people with major depressive disorder, substance use abuse and dependence and head injuries (with or without loss of consciousness). All the participants in this study were African and predominantly female with an average age of 28.5 years and 10 years of education. Age and gender influenced neuropsychological functioning, with older people performing worse. The effect of gender was not uniform across all the tests. Conclusion. These two neuropsychological tests can be administered with the IHDS in busy antiretroviral clinics. Their performance can be measured against these norms to more accurately diagnose the spectrum and progression of HAND. © 2010 Singh et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
Authors & Co-Authors
Singh, Dinesh Kumar
South Africa, Durban
University of Kwazulu-natal
Joska, John A.
South Africa, Cape Town
University of Cape Town
Goodkin, Karl
United States, Los Angeles
Cedars-sinai Medical Center
United States, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
López, Enrique
United States, Los Angeles
Cedars-sinai Medical Center
United States, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
Myer, Landon
South Africa, Cape Town
University of Cape Town
United States, New York
Mailman School of Public Health
Paul, Robert H.
United States, St. Louis
Department of Psychological Sciences
John, Sally
South Africa, Durban
Mccord Hospital
Sunpath, Henry
South Africa, Durban
Mccord Hospital
Statistics
Citations: 8
Authors: 8
Affiliations: 7
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1186/1756-0500-3-28
Research Areas
Health System And Policy
Infectious Diseases
Mental Health
Substance Abuse
Violence And Injury
Study Locations
South Africa
Participants Gender
Female