Table 1.
Characteristics of the Sample and its Subgroups at first clinic visit
| Characteristic | Total Sample | Group 1 (G1) | Group 2 (G2) | P-value ¶ |
| Sample size (n) | 455 | 36 | 419 | |
| Sex: n (%) | ||||
| Male | 334(73.4) | 33 (91.7) | 301 (71.8) | 0.127 |
| Female | 121(26.6) | 3 (8.3) | 118 (28.2) | |
| HIV risk factor: n (%) | ||||
| IDU * | 285(62.9) | 2 (5.7) | 283 (67.7) | < 0.001 |
| Heterosexual | 123(27) | 16 (44.4) | 107 (25.5) | 0.132 |
| MSM ** | 23(5.1) | 4 (11.1) | 19 (4.5) | < 0.999 ∥ |
| MSMW ‡ | 8(1.8) | 6 (16.7) | 2 (0.5) | < 0.001 ∥ |
| Unknown | 16(3.5) | 8 (22.2) | 8 (2) | < 0.001 ∥ |
| AIDS criteria: n (%) | ||||
| Yes § | 57(12.5) | 7 (19.4) | 50 (11.9) | < 0.999 ∥ |
| No | 398(87.5) | 29 (80.6) | 369 (88.1) | |
| Previous treatment: n (%) | ||||
| Yes | 181(39.8) | 2 (5.6) | 179 (42.7) | < 0.001 |
| No | 274(60.2) | 34 (94.4) | 240 (57.3) | |
| CD4 (n° cel./mm3) | 352.08 ± 294.10 | 180.83 ± 230.85 | 366.90 ± 294.52 | < 0.001 |
| CD8 (n° cel./mm3) | 957.82 ± 597.10 | 963.38 ± 733.22 | 956.97 ± 583.73 | < 0.999 |
| Plasma viral load (log10) | 4.09 ± 1.22 | 4.51 ± 1.18 | 4.05 ± 1.22 | 0.451 |
| HBsAg #: n (%) | ||||
| Positive | 24(8.1) | 1 (4.5) | 23 (8.3) | < 0.999 |
| Negative | 274(91.9) | 21 (95.5) | 253 (91.7) | |
| Anti-HCV: n (%) | ||||
| Positive | 197(56.8) | 3 (13.6) | 194 (65.1) | < 0.001 |
| Negative | 123(43.2) | 19 (86.4) | 104 (34.9) |
¶ P value adjusted by Bonferroni procedure; * IDU: Injection drug user; ** MSM: Men who have sex with men; ∥ Fisher exact test; ‡ MSMW: Men who have sex with men or women; § AIDS criteria: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) category C; # HBsAg: Hepatitis B superficial antigen