Hasan MQ, Giordano T, Sadeque AK, White AC, Visnegarwala F; International Conference on AIDS.
Int Conf AIDS. 2002 Jul 7-12; 14: abstract no. B10512.
University of Texas Health Science Center-Houston, Houston, United States
BACKGROUND: Controversy exists regarding the influence of gender & race on a patient's baseline (BL) viral load (VL). We hypothesized that gender & race would not predict BL VL in antiretroviral (ART) naive patients, if adjusted for CD4 count. METHODS: Data was abstracted from a longitudinal database at the Thomas Street Clinic. VL was assayed with RT-PCR (lower limit 400 copies/ml). CD4 counts were compared with the Kruskal-Wallis test; log VLs with ANOVA (Stata, 7.0). RESULTS: Of 602 pts,183 were female; 98 white (W), 388 AA, & 116 H; HIV risk was: 33% M sex M, 10% IDU, 52% heterosexual, 4% other; median age 37 yrs; mean CD4 300; mean log VL 4.69. The mean log VL and median CD4 for male & female: 4.76/4.52 (P=0.01); 188/313 (P=0.001) respectively. Mean log VL for Ws, AAs & Hs were 4.64, 4.65, and 4.85, respectively (P=0.16); median CD4 counts were 275, 231.5, & 186, respectively (P=0.01). When stratified by CD4 count: BL Mean Log VL+/-SD (N), Stratified by CD4 Count, Gender, and Race [table: see text] None of the log VL comparisons between male & femaleor between racial groups were significant. In a multivariate model of log VL, which included age, gender, race, HIV risk factor, and CD4 count, only CD4 count was predictive of log VL (P<0.001), a decrease of 0.21+/-0.01 log for every 100 point increase in CD4 count. CONCLUSIONS: VL is comparable across gender and racial lines when stratified by CD4. The only independent predictor of baseline VL was CD4 count, thus validating its use as disease marker across gender and race. Women compared to men, and whites compared to minorities accessed care at higher CD4 counts for reasons that need further study.
Publication Types:
Keywords:
- Antigens, CD4
- BaseLine
- CD4 Lymphocyte Count
- Female
- Glass Ionomer Cements
- Humans
- Male
- Sex
- Viral Load
- immunology
- organization & administration
Other ID:
UI: 102254586
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