Neuropsychological abnormalities in asymptomatic HIV seropositive military personnel

Comprehensive neuropsychological evaluations were performed on 103 asymptomatic, HIV-1 antibody seropositive U.S. Army males to assess cognitive impairment. The sample was demographically heterogeneous. Using established clinical norms, 37.9% of the sample had an abnormal neuropsychological exam. Impairment varied as a function of ethnic group but not as a function of emotional distress or disease status determined by the Walter Reed staging system. We discuss our high frequency of impairment relative to other studies in terms of subject characteristics, methodological factors, and the possibility that subjects of average intellectual ability possess inadequate capacity to moderate neurobehavioral consequences of the virus.