OBJECTIVE: Verbal fluency decline, observed both in aging and HIV infection, has been related to lower quality of life. This study aimed to evaluate the factors associated with verbal fluency in people living with HIV (PLHIV) aged ≥60 years living in West Africa. METHODS: In this longitudinal study, PLHIV aged ≥60 years, on antiretroviral therapy (ART) for ≥6 months were included in three clinics (two in Côte d'Ivoire, one in Senegal) participating in the West Africa International epidemiological Databases to Evaluate AIDS (IeDEA) collaboration. Verbal fluency was evaluated with the Isaacs Set Test at 60 seconds at baseline and 2 years later. Factors associated with verbal fluency baseline performance and annual rates of changes were evaluated using multivariate linear regression models. RESULTS: 97 PLHIV were included with 41 of them (42%) having a 2-year follow-up visit. The median age was 64 (62-67), 45.4% were female, and 89.7% had an undetectable viral load. The median annual change in verbal fluency scores was -0.9 (IQR: -2.7 - 1.8). Low baseline verbal fluency performance and its decline were associated with older age and being a female. Low educational level was associated with low baseline verbal fluency performance but not with its decline. Verbal fluency decline was also associated with marital status and hypertension. CONCLUSIONS: Among older West African PLHIV, usual socio-demographic variables and hypertension were the main factors associated with low verbal fluency performance and/or its decline. Interventions that focus on supporting cardiometabolic health are highly recommended to prevent cognitive disorders in PLHIV. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.Read less <