title: Validity of the International HIV Dementia Scale as assessed in a socioeconomically underdeveloped region of Southern China: assessing the influence of educational attainment.
abstract: In 2012, more than 80,000 cases of HIV infection were recorded in the Southern Chinese minority autonomous region of Guangxi Zhuang, where the occurrence of HIV-associated dementia remains high. The International HIV Dementia Scale is a relatively simple-to-administer screening scale for HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders. However, clinical experience in utilizing the scale with large Chinese samples is currently lacking, especially among individuals with limited formal schooling. In this study, a full neuropsychological evaluation the gold standard was conducted to identify the incidence/prevalence of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders in a socioeconomically underdeveloped region of Southern China and to locate the optimal cut-off scale value using receiver operating characteristic curves. The highest Youden index of the scale was 0.450, with a corresponding cut-off point of 7.25. The sensitivity and specificity were 0.737 and 0.713, respectively. These results suggest that the scale is an effective and feasible screening tool for HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders in poorer regions of China with fewer well-educated residents.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Stroke Center, the 1st Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, No. 58 Zhongshan Rd 2, Guangzhou 510080, China.
authors.forename: Chao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dang
authors.affiliation: Guangxi Food and Drug Administration, Road 22, Nanning, Guangxi Medical University, China 530021.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: Public Health College of Guangxi Medical University, Shuangyong Road 22, Nanning, Guangxi Medical University, China 530021.
authors.forename: JianXiong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Long
authors.affiliation: Guangxi Medical University, Shuangyong Road 22, Nanning, Guangxi Medical University, China 530021.
authors.forename: MengXiao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Guangxi Medical University, Shuangyong Road 22, Nanning, Guangxi Medical University, China 530021.
authors.forename: XinXin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Public Health College of Guangxi Medical University, Shuangyong Road 22, Nanning, Guangxi Medical University, China 530021. Electronic address: gxzhaott@163.com.
authors.forename: TingTing
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zhao
mesh_terms: D015526:AIDS Dementia Complex / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D044466:Asian People; D002681:China / Q000208:ethnology; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012372:ROC Curve; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders; International HIV Dementia Scale; Neuropsychological test battery; Receiver operating characteristic