Neurocognitive impairment (NCI) is one of the most prevalent and deleterious complications observed in adolescents and young adults (AYA) with perinatally acquired HIV (PHIV), even despite viral suppression. There are evidence gaps about what drives NCI in virally suppressed people with PHIV greatly limit our ability to develop targeted and tailored interventions for it. Enduring multiple co-occurring adversities (i.e., syndemics) as well as timing, duration and type of ART, may affect the relationships between HIV and immune dysfunction (ID), and thus Neurocognitive impairment (NCI), differently in PHIV vs HHIV, but research has not addressed this.
This study will evaluate the difference in ID and NCI in virally suppressed PHIV and horizontally acquired HIV (HHIV), as well as HIV unexposed uninfected (HUU) AYA (15-25years) old in Uganda controlling for chronic adversities. The study will also evaluate the relations hips between ID and NCI in AYA with all the three groups (PHIV, HHIV, HUU)
Expected impact: Knowledge to foster Ugandan and US capacity to examine ID and NCI across diseases and populations.
