An Empirical Study on Cognitive Impairment among HIV Patients

There is a belief regarding HIV/AIDS that it affects only the immune system but the underlying truth is that decline in mental processes is another complication of HIV/AIDS infection. The present study aimed to assess the reaction time and attention of individuals with HIV positive and to compare it with Normal individuals. It was hypothesized that there would be a significant difference between HIV positive and Normal individuals on the measures of attention and reaction time. The neuropsychological tools Trail making test and reaction time test were administered to 30 HIV positive patients and were contrasted with those of 30 control subjects. Results of this study revealed that there was a significant difference between HIV positive and Normal individuals on the measure of attention (P<0.01). In reaction time the difference is more significant in simple reaction time (P<0.02) than in the choice reaction time (P<0.05). Reaction time and attention were significantly weakened in HIV-positive subjects compared to Normal individuals. Hence, the present study enlightens the importance of considering the cognitive aspects while rehabilitating the patients. The paper also discussed the further implications of the study.