Higher religiosity and spirituality are associated with ethnic group membership among middle-aged and older adults living with HIV.

Background: HIV is a chronic illness that impacts the lives of more than 1 million people in the United States. As persons living with HIV (PWH) are living longer, it is important to understand the influence that religiosity/spirituality has among middle-aged and older PWH.Objective: Compare the degree of religiosity/spirituality among middle-aged and older PWH and HIV-negative individuals, and to identify demographic, clinical, and psychosocial factors associated with religiosity/spirituality among PWH.Method: Baseline data on 122 PWH and 92 HIV-negative individuals (ages 36-65 years; 61.1% Non-Hispanic White) from a longitudinal study were analyzed for the current study. Recruitment occurred through HIV treatment clinics and community organizations in San Diego. Participants completed questionnaires on religiosity, spirituality, and psychosocial functioning. Independent samples t-tests, Pearson correlations, and multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to test the study objective.Results: No significant differences in religiosity/spirituality were found between PWH and HIV-negative individuals. Demographic and psychosocial variables were unrelated to religiously/spirituality among HIV-negative individuals. Among PWH, multiple linear regression models indicated higher daily spirituality was significantly associated with racial/ethnic minority membership (Hispanic/Latino, African American/Black, or Other), fewer years of estimated duration of HIV, greater social support, and higher grit. Greater engagement in private religious practices was significantly associated with racial/ethnic minority membership and higher social support.Conclusions: For PWH, being a racial/ethnic minority and having higher social support was associated with greater engagement in religious/spiritual practices. Future longitudinal studies should examine whether religion/spirituality impacts well-being across the lifespan among racial/ethnic minority groups of PWH.

Lifetime methamphetamine dependence is associated with cerebral microgliosis in HIV-1-infected adults.

Methamphetamine (Meth) use is common among HIV-infected persons. It remains unclear whether Meth dependence is associated with long-lasting degenerative changes in the brain parenchyma and microvasculature of HIV-infected individuals. We examined the postmortem brains of 78 HIV-infected adults, twenty of whom were diagnosed with lifetime Meth dependence (18 past and two current at the final follow-up visit). Using logistic regression models, we analyzed associations of Meth with cerebral gliosis (immunohistochemistry for ionized calcium-binding adapter molecule-1 (Iba1) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in frontal, temporo-parietal, and putamen-internal capsule regions), synaptodendritic loss (confocal microscopy for synaptophysin (SYP) and microtubule-associated protein-2 (MAP2) in frontal cortex), ß-amyloid plaque deposition (immunohistochemistry in frontal and temporo-parietal cortex and putamen), and arteriolosclerosis (histopathology in forebrain white matter). We found that Meth was associated with marked Iba1 gliosis in the temporo-parietal region (odds ratio, 4.42 (95 % confidence interval, 1.36, 14.39), p = 0.014, n = 62), which remained statistically significant after adjusting for HIV encephalitis, white matter lesions, and opportunistic diseases (n = 61); hepatitis C virus seropositivity (n = 54); and lifetime dependence on alcohol, opiates, and cannabis (n = 62). There was no significant association of Meth with GFAP gliosis, SYP or MAP2 loss, ß-amyloid plaque deposition, or arteriolosclerosis. In conclusion, we found lifetime Meth dependence to be associated with focal cerebral microgliosis among HIV-infected adults, but not with other brain degenerative changes examined. Some of the changes in select brain regions might be reversible following extended Meth abstinence or, alternatively, might have not been induced by Meth initially.