A 2-Year, Randomized, Clinical Trial Examining the Effects of Speed of Processing Cognitive Training on Quality-of-Life Indicators in Adults With HIV-Associated Neurocognitive Disorder in Birmingham, Alabama: Results of the Think Fast Study.
David E Vance, Pariya L Fazeli, Andres Azuero and 6 others
PMID 38949906WHAT IT FOUND
Speed-of-processing cognitive training did not improve quality-of-life measures in adults with HIV-related cognitive impairment over two years.
A sleep signal was inconsistent and not reliable. Do not expect this training to lift daily quality of life.
Key findings
01In participants with HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder or borderline HAND, speed-of-processing training did not produce statistically significant effects on quality-of-life outcomes.
02A possible difference in sleep-quality trajectories across groups was not reliable after the study's correction for many comparisons.
03Depression scores remained in the clinically relevant range across groups and time points, with only trivial-to-small between-group differences.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The study ended prematurely because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and 15 participants did not receive their 2-year follow-up assessments. 102 participants did not complete all follow-up time-points, while 114 did. The sample came from one HIV/AIDS clinic in Birmingham, Alabama. Multiple quality-of-life outcomes were tested, so an isolated difference may be chance. Participants had low to moderate quality of life at baseline, and the authors suggested this may have made improvement harder. The trial tested speed-of-processing training, not other domain-specific cognitive training.
Declared interests
The study is listed as NIH extramural research support. The authors declared no real or perceived vested interest, except that Karlene Ball owns stock in the Visual Awareness Research Group.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the year 2 sleep or locus-of-control differences as proof that speed-of-processing training improves quality of life. The main sleep trajectory test was not significant after correction, and the authors said these differences did not form a consistent training pattern.