FRIDAY, Feb. 10 (HealthDay News) —
There’s little evidence linking disease severity or antiretroviral
treatment with the degree of psychiatric symptoms in HIV-positive children
and teens infected around the time of birth, according to a new study.
Some experts were concerned that more severe HIV illness — the virus
that causes AIDS — or use of specific highly active antiretroviral
therapy regimens might increase the risk of mental health problems in
HIV-infected youth, noted the researchers at Stony Brook University in New
York.
To examine this issue, they analyzed data collected from 319
HIV-infected youngsters, aged 6 to 17, during a two-year study. One-third
of the patients met the criteria for at least one psychiatric
disorder.
“Analyses of HIV disease variables and severity of psychiatric symptoms
revealed few specific associations, and we feel compelled to emphasize
that findings were variable, mixed and at times counterintuitive,” Dr.
Sharon Nachman and colleagues wrote.
For example, regarding CD4 (infection-fighting cells), the researchers
found that a lower entry CD4 percentage was associated with less severe
depression in the patients, but a higher entry RNA viral load was
associated with more severe depression.
The Stony Brook team did find some evidence of a link between certain
HIV variables (such as lower nadir CD4 percentage) and quality of life and
cognitive, social and academic abilities.
“We found that more severe HIV disease (indicated by the nadir CD4
percentage) was associated with worse cognitive functioning and social
skills, but our analyses do not allow us to make causal inferences about
these associations,” the researchers wrote.
“Our data, in conjunction with findings from other groups, suggest that
receptive language, word recognition and educational problems are common
in youth with perinatal HIV infection regardless of virologic
suppression,” they said in a university news release.
The study was published online Feb. 6 in the Archives of Pediatrics
& Adolescent Medicine.
More information
The New Mexico AIDS Education and Training Center has more about HIV and children.
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