Verbal fluency and vocabulary in English in bi/multilingual adolescents living with HIV-1 in South Africa.
Date
2014-02-26
Authors
Van Wyk, Cindy
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Abstract
South Africa has the most prominent percentage of individuals living with the Human
Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) in the world, with the most prominent form of transmission
of HIV in South Africa being vertical mother-to-child transmission. From 1997 until 2004,
South Africa had limited access to ARV treatment at and after birth due to the government
legislation. As a consequence, treatment of HIV may only have been initiated after clinical
presentation of immune deficiency. A paucity of information therefore exists regarding this
population in addition to the specific age demographic of adolescents. Adolescents may be
negatively influenced by the cortical thinning associated with HIV, and this study therefore
aims to investigate the verbal fluency and vocabulary (in English) of 30 bi- or multilingual
seropositive adolescents that are currently on a managed anti-retroviral programme in
comparison to an HIV-negative contrast group of 70 bi- or multilingual adolescents in South
Africa (matched for age, education, and socioeconomic status). The study found that there
were no significant results between the HIV-positive and HIV-negative groups on the
measures of vocabulary, semantic naming, or phonemic naming in ‘F’ as determined by their
performance on the neuropsychological assessments. Significant results were noted
between the HIV-positive and HIV-negative groups on the phonemic naming categories of
‘A’ and ‘S’ however, and negative correlations between performance in these categories and
current viral load, and viral load at Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) initiation
were also noted. This research formed part of a broader study examining the overall
neurocognitive effects of HIV-1 infection in adolescents in South Africa.