Relationships among apathy, depression, and cognitive impairment in HIV/AIDS

This study was designed to determine whether apathy is associated with neurocognitive symptoms and/or depressive symptoms in HIV/AIDS and also whether apathy is associated with patient expectancies about antiretroviral medication adherence. Seventy-five HIV+ homosexual men and 58 HIV+ women were assessed for depressive disorders and symptoms. Neuropsychological tests measured attention, concentration, learning, memory, executive function, and psychomotor speed. Other measures included Marin's Apathy Evaluation Scale, the Adherence Determinants Questionnaire, CD4 cell count, and HIV RNA viral load. Apathy was consistently related to depression and unrelated to neuropsychological impairment. Patient expectancies regarding medication adherence were unrelated to apathy when the analysis was controlled for depressive symptoms.