Gait speed and neurocognition among older people with and without HIV - PubMed (original) (raw)

. 2025 Dec 1;39(15):2191-2199.

doi: 10.1097/QAD.0000000000004312. Epub 2025 Jul 30.

Raymond Jones 2, Crystal X Wang 3, Casey D Xavier Hall 4 5, Jun Y Byun 6, Kristen D Krause 7, Maulika Kohli 8, Kristine M Erlandson 9, Erin E Sundermann 3, David J Moore 3, Scott Letendre 3 10, Ronald J Ellis 3 11

Affiliations

Gait speed and neurocognition among older people with and without HIV

Evelyn Iriarte et al. AIDS. 2025.

Abstract

Objective: Examine the associations of gait speed with global and domain-specific neurocognition in older people with HIV (PWH) versus people without HIV (PWoH).

Methods: Participants included 285 PWH and 214 PWoH 50 years and older (Mage = 60.1, SD age = 7.1) who completed a gait examination and a comprehensive neurocognitive assessment.

Results: Gait speed was significantly slower in PWH ( M = 3.3 s, SD = 1.1) than PWoH ( M = 3.0 s, SD = 0.9; P = 0.006). Slower gait speed was significantly associated with poorer global neurocognition ( β = -0.17, P = 0.009) and deficits in multiple neurocognitive domains, including verbal fluency, executive functioning, processing speed, and motor skills, after adjusting for sociodemographic, HIV-related, and medical characteristics in PWH. A significant interaction between gait speed and HIV status emerged for verbal fluency, suggesting differential cognitive impacts ( β = -0.45, P = 0.008).

Conclusions: Our findings highlight nuanced relationships between gait speed and neurocognition, emphasizing the need for longitudinal research to establish causal mechanisms and potential clinical screening approaches.

Keywords: HIV; aging; gait speed; neurocognition.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: none.

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