The neurocognitive implications of depression and socioeconomic status in people with HIV.

Objective: This cross-sectional study investigates the independent and interactive effects of depression and socioeconomic status (SES) on neurocognition in a diverse sample of people with HIV (PWH).

Method: The sample of 119 PWH (71% Latinx, 27% female) completed comprehensive neurocognitive and psychosocial evaluations and were separated into two groups: those with a history of depression diagnosis ( = 47) and those without ( = 72).

Results: The results of regression analyses indicated that lifetime depression was not associated with lower SES nor with worse neurocognitive performance on any neurocognitive outcome. However, a significant main effect of SES was observed on the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test (total), indicating that higher SES was associated with better verbal learning performance (= .11, = .05, < .02). Lastly, the results revealed an interactive effect of lifetime depression and SES, such that individuals with depression and higher SES performed better on tests of attention/working memory (i.e., WAIS-III Letter-Number Sequencing, = .08, = .04, < .02; Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test, = .39, = .16, < .02).

Conclusions: Depression and SES appear to play an important role in the neurocognitive performance of PWH. Specifically, higher SES appears to have a protective effect on attention/working memory among PWH only if they have co-morbid history of lifetime depression.