Annelies Van Rie|Anna Dow|Aimee Mupuala|Paul W. Stewart
Neurodevelopmental Trajectory of HIV-Infected Children Accessing Care in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
objective assess effect hiv care including highly active antiretroviral therapy eligible neurodevelopment design prospective cohort study methods motor mental development 35 hivinfected children aged 1871 months assessed entry care 6 12 months using ageappropriate tools developmental trajectory compared 35 hivuninfected affected 90 control children using linear mixedeffects models effects age 29 months timing entry care highly active antiretroviral therapy eligibility explored secondary analyses results baseline hivinfected children lowest control children highest hivuninfected affected children intermediate mean developmental scores 1 year care hivinfected children achieved mean motor cognitive scores similar hiv uninfected affected children although lower compared control children overall hivinfected children experienced accelerated motor development similar gains cognitive development compared control children exploratory analyses suggest younger children presenting early may experience accelerated greater gains development conclusions hivinfected children accessing care experience improved motor development may care initiated young age early stage disease also experience gains cognitive development