Association between personality and cognitive performance in middle-aged and older adults with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)

Abstract

Background Nearly half of adults with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) experience HIV-Associated Neurocognitive Disorder (HAND), characterized by cognitive impairments in two or more cognitive domains, which can interfere with everyday functioning. Many factors are thought to influence such cognitive impairments in adults with HIV; one factor seldom examined is personality. Objective This study investigated the association between five major dimensions of personality (openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism) and cognitive function in older adults with HIV. Methods In this cross-sectional study, a secondary data analysis was conducted on 261 HIV + participants. Participants completed a norm-based cognitive battery covering seven cognitive domains, which yielded the following indices: global cognitive impairment, and global and domain-specific T-scores. The Big Five Inventory was used to assess personality traits. Results Higher openness, conscientiousness, and agreeableness were associated with better performance on individual cognitive domains while agreeableness and openness were also positively associated with global cognitive T-scores (p < .01). Only openness significantly predicted global cognition when adjusting for covariates (p < .01). Discussion Openness was associated with better global cognitive function in persons with HIV. This study provides a basis for further investigation of potential mechanisms for the association between personality and cognition in people with HIV in order to ultimately inform intervention strategies.