What is the clinical evidence from this study?

Study design: Cohort. Population: HIV (n=717). Intervention: Lower carotid artery distensibility vs. Higher carotid artery distensibility. Primary outcome: Cognitive outcomes including psychomotor speed, executive function, and processing speed.

What does this research mean for the field?

Lower carotid artery distensibility is significantly associated with worse cognitive performance, specifically in psychomotor speed and executive function, among men living with HIV. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.CONFIRMATORY. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

What question did this study set out to answer?

To evaluate the longitudinal relationship between carotid artery distensibility and cognitive performance among men living with and without HIV.

September 5, 2026The Journals of Gerontology Series AOpen Access

Carotid Artery Stiffness and Cognitive Performance among Men Living with and without HIV

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Key result

Lower carotid artery distensibility is linked to slower Trail Making Test performance in men with HIV.

n=717

Why the study?

Does lower carotid artery distensibility reduce cognitive performance in men living with and without HIV?

Population

717 men from the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study who underwent carotid artery ultrasound and completed…

Comparison

Lower carotid artery distensibility vs Higher carotid artery distensibility

Design

Cohort

Authors

RJRaymond JonesUniversity of Alabama at Birmingham JBJessica BlairUniversity of Alabama at Birmingham ZCZenoria L Causey-PruittUniversity of Alabama at Birmingham

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Lower carotid distensibility was associated with slower psychomotor speed and executive function in men with HIV; extends general-population observations but leaves causal role open.

Key Points

To evaluate the longitudinal relationship between carotid artery distensibility and cognitive performance among men living with and without HIV.
Analyzed 717 men (459 with HIV, 258 without HIV) from the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study who underwent carotid artery ultrasound and completed neuropsychological testing at least twice.
Measured psychomotor speed (Trail Making Test A), executive function (Trail Making Test B), and processing speed (Symbol Digit Modalities Test) across carotid distensibility tertiles.
Utilized multivariable mixed-effects linear regression models adjusted for sociodemographic factors, cardiovascular risk profiles, and HIV-related clinical characteristics.
Lower carotid artery distensibility was significantly associated with slower performance on Trail Making Tests A and B among men living with HIV in fully adjusted models.
Associations between distensibility and cognitive test scores were weaker and statistically non-significant in men without HIV.
In the combined cohort, rate of executive function decline with age was similar across distensibility tertiles, but absolute cognitive scores remained lowest in the low distensibility group.

Study Design

Type

Cohort (n=717)

Multicenter

Yes

Structured PICO

Does lower carotid artery distensibility reduce cognitive performance in men living with and without HIV?

Population

717 men (459 with HIV and 258 without HIV) who underwent carotid artery ultrasound and completed neuropsychological testing at least twice.

Exposure

Lower carotid artery distensibility (evaluated in tertiles)

Comparator

Higher carotid artery distensibility

Outcome

Cognitive performance including psychomotor speed (Trail Making Test A), executive function (Trail Making Test B), and processing speed (Symbol Digit Modalities Test)

Lower carotid artery distensibility is associated with worse cognitive performance in men with HIV, suggesting that vascular aging may compound HIV-related cognitive decline.

Limitations

Low sample size among men without HIV

Cite This Study

Jones et al. (2026) conducted a cohort in HIV (n=717). Lower carotid artery distensibility vs. Higher carotid artery distensibility was evaluated on Cognitive outcomes including psychomotor speed, executive function, and processing speed. Lower carotid artery distensibility was significantly associated with slower performance on Trail Making Test A and B in men with HIV.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a9bd4536b95aff0620ebdd8 https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/glag220

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Implication

Lower carotid distensibility was associated with slower psychomotor speed and executive function in men with HIV; extends general-population observations but leaves causal role open.