Page 307 - SAHCS HIVMed Journal Vol 20 No 1 2019

Page 3 of 7 Original Research

using forced entry. A p-value < 0.05 was considered to be Results
statistically significant.
Of the 548 participants, 547 were included in the study. One
For the statistical analyses, we used the statistic programme participant was excluded as there was no information on HIV
‘IBM SPSS statistics’ version 24.0 (IBM SPSS Statistics for status. Almost all participants were black Africans (99.6%), 341
Windows, Version 24.0. IBM Corp., Armonk, NY). (62%) were women, 394 (72%) were HIV-positive, and the
median age was 37 years (Table 2). Of the HIV-positive group,
Ethical considerations 103 (26%) were ART-naïve, 94 (24%) were on first-line treatment

Ethical permission was obtained from the Human Research and 197 (50%) were on second-line treatment (Table 2).
Ethics Committee of the University of the Witwatersrand
(HREC number M160131). All participants provided written The HIV-positive group on second-line treatment had a
informed consent prior to participation. higher percentage of women (73%, p < 0.001) and was older

TABLE 2: Characteristics of the study population.
Variable HIV-negative HIV-positive
ART-naive First-line ART Second-line ART
n % median n % median n % median n % median
(IQR) (IQR) (IQR) (IQR)
Total(n = 547) 153 28.0 - 103 18.8 - 94 17.2 - 197 36.0 -
Patient characteristics
Female sex 75 49.0 - 64 62.1 - 59 62.8 - 143 72.6 -
Age in years - - 32.0 (27.0–40.5) - - 33.0 (28.0–39.0) - - 35.0 (32.0–41.0) - - 42.0 (38.0-48.0)
BMI (kg/m )* - - 24.5 (21.2–28.85) - - 23.5 (20.9–27.1) - - 24.2 (21.3–29.1) - - 26.3 (22.9–32.0)
2
Underweight 8 5.2 - 7 6.8 - 3 3.2 - - 1.5 -
Normal weight 75 49.0 - 57 55.3 - 49 52.1 - - 39.3 -
Overweight 36 23.5 - 24 23.3 - 20 21.3 - 50 25.5 -
Obese 34 22.2 - 15 14.6 - 22 23.4 - 66 33.7 -
Black African 151 98.7 - 103 100.0 - 94 100.0 - 197 10.0 -
Education
Primary school or less 12 7.8 - 13 12.6 - 10 10.6 - 27 13.7 -
Secondary school completed 74 48.4 - 51 49.5 - 51 54.3 - 96 48.73 -
Matrix completed 37 24.2 - 29 28.2 - 24 25.5 - 59 30.0 -
College or university 29 19.0 - 9 8.7 - 8 8.5 - 13 6.6 -
Employment
Employed 60 40 - 56 54.9 - 72 78.3 - 139 70.9 -
Unemployed 90 60 - 46 45.1 - 20 21.7 - 57 29.1 -
Occupational exposure
Worked in the mining industry ≥ 1 year 0 0.0 - 1 1.0 - 0 0.0 - 2 1.0 -
Worked in a dusty job ≥ 1 year 2 1.3 - 1 1.0 - 7 7.6 - 6 3.1 -
Exposure to gas, chemical fumes or 2 1.4 - 0 0.0 - 6 6.4 - 3 1.6 -
pesticides in work ≥ 1 year
Respiratory illnesses
Pneumonia in the past 4 2.6 - 2 1.9 - 2 2.2 - 27 13.8 -
Asthma 7 4.6 - 3 2.9 - 3 3.2 - 18 9.4 -
Seasonal allergy 0 0.0 - 0 0.0 - 3 3.2 - 9 4.8 -
Active TB 1 0.7 - 0 0.0 - 0 0.0 - 7 3.6 -
TB in the past 5 3.3 - 9 8.8 - 19 20.2 - 82 41.8 -
Unknown TB status 1 0.7 - 0 0.0 - 0 0.0 - 2 1.0 -
Smoking
Current daily smoker 56 36.8 - 27 26.2 - 15 16.0 - 18 - -
Pack-years - - 3.7 (1.3–8.1) - - 3.7 (1.8–6.3) - - 1.8 (1.2–7.3) - - 7.5 (3.1–10.7)
Former smoker 6 3.9 - 7 6.8 - 8 8.5 - 14 7.1 -
Never smoker 89 58.6 - 69 67.0 - 71 75.5 - 165 83.8 -
Daily smoker of marijuana 14 9.2 - 4 3.9 - 4 4.3 - 1 0.5 -
Passive smoker 52 34.0 - 24 23.3 - 15 16.9 - 24 12.2 -
HIV characteristics
Time since HIV diagnosis in months - - - - - 0.0 (0.0–1.3) - - 47.0 (37.8–72.3) - - 108.0 (84.0–149.0)
CD4-cell count/uL - - - - - 281.0 (191.0–400.8) - - 413.5 (278.5–574.5) - - 619.0 (429.5–798.0)
Viral load < 40 cp/mL - - - 10 10.0 - 81 91.0 - 175 92.6 -
HIV medication
On ART - - - 66 64.1 - 94 100.0 - 197 100.0 -
Duration ART < 6 weeks - - - 65 98.5 - 2 2.2 - 0 0.0 -
ART, antiretroviral therapy; IQR, interquartile range; TB, tuberculosis.

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