Table 1.
Characteristics of CHARTER Study Participants at Baseline by Neurocognitive Impairment Statusa
| Variable | Not Impaired (n = 804) (GDS <0.5) |
Impaired (n = 457) (GDS ≥0.5) |
P Valueb | No HANDc (n = 665) |
ANI or MND (n = 558) |
HAD (n = 37) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, mean (SD), y | 43 (9) | 43 (8) | .53 | 43 (9) | 43 (9) | 44 (6) |
| Sex, No. (%) women | 171 (21) | 119 (26) | .06 | 150 (23) | 131 (24) | 8 (22) |
| Race/ethnicity, No. (%)d | ||||||
| Non-Hispanic black | 416 (52) | 174 (38) | <.01e | 351 (53) | 230 (41) | 8 (22) |
| Non-Hispanic white | 318 (40) | 200 (44) | .17 | 261 (39) | 235 (42) | 22 (59) |
| Hispanic | 53 (7) | 70 (15) | <.05e | 35 (5) | 82 (15) | 6 (16) |
| Nadir CD4+ T-cell count, median (IQR), cells/µL | 190 (56–329) | 162 (41–277) | <.01e | 196 (59–332) | 150 (34–265) | 123 (50–190) |
| Plasma HIV RNA, median (IQR), log10 copies/mL | 2.5 (1.7–4.1) | 2.1 (1.7–3.8) | .01e | 2.5 (1.7–4.1) | 2.2 (1.7–3.9) | 1.9 (1.7–3.7) |
| Receiving HAART, No. (%) | 534 (66) | 352 (77) | <.01e | 442 (66) | 410 (73) | 33 (89) |
| ZDV use, No. (%)f | 122 (15) | 95 (24) | .03e | 109 (16) | 100 (21) | 7 (21) |
| WRAT-III (IQ) score, median (IQR) | 97 (87–105) | 90 (79–102) | <.01e | 98 (87–105) | 92 (81–103) | 87 (77–98) |
| Contributing comorbid condition, No. (%)g | 239 (30) | 215 (47) | <.01e | 191 (29) | 238 (43) | 25 (68) |
| Current alcohol abuse, No. (%) | 18 (2) | 4 (1) | .11 | 18 (3) | 4 (1) | 0 (0) |
| Anemia, No. (%)h | 117 (15) | 74 (16) | .46 | 91 (14) | 86 (15) | 4 (11) |
Abbreviations: ANI, asymptomatic neurocognitive impairment; CHARTER, CNS HIV Antiretroviral Therapy Effects Research; GDS, global deficit score; HAART, highly active antiretroviral therapy; HAD, HIV-associated dementia; HAND, HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder; HIV, human immunodeficiency virus; IQR, interquartile range; MND, mild neurocognitive disorder; SD, standard deviation; WRAT, Wide-Range Achievement Test; y, years; ZDV, zidovudine.
a Data are presented as means (SDs) for normally distributed variables or medians (IQRs) if skewed.
b P values represent comparison between normal and impaired groups.
c One study participant was missing data on HAND assessment.
d A small number of individuals (1% of impaired and 3% of unimpaired subjects) self-identified their race/ethnicity as “other.”
e Statistically significant differences (P < .05; Wilcoxon rank sum test for continuous variables and χ2 or Fisher exact test for discrete variables).
f Data on ZDV use was available in all but 1 subject; 199 subjects were HAART-naive.
g All other comorbid conditions were deemed minimal and unlikely to contribute to neurocognitive impairment.
h Anemia was defined as a hemoglobin level <11.5 g/dL in women and <13 g/dL in men.