Hemophilia Growth and Development Study: Relationships Between Neuropsychological, Neurological, and MRI Findings at Baseline.

Objective: To determine the effects of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection on children's development by identifying neurological and environmental variables associated with neuropsychological measures of cognitive development in HIV-seronegative (HIV−) and HIV-seropositive (HIV+) children and adolescents with hemophilia.Methods: Participants (N = 298; 60% HIV+) were males ages 7—19 years enrolled in the Hemophilia Growth and Development Study (HGDS). Least squares modeling was used to determine whether there was a difference at baseline in mean neuropsychological test scores by HIV status, age, and neurological baseline findings, adjusting for selected environmental and medical history variables.Results: The participants were within age expectations for general intelligence. Variables associated with lowered neuropsychological performance included academic problems, coordination and/or gait abnormalities, parents' education, and previous head trauma.Conclusions: Hemophilia-related morbidity has a subtle adverse influence on cognitive performance. HIV infection was not associated with neuropsychological dysfunction in this group even when MRI abnormalities were present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]