Table 1.
Characteristics at baseline and events recorded during follow-up for patients in the era before the introduction of combination antiretroviral therapy and for patients receiving combination therapy
| Patients followed up in the era before combination antiretroviral therapy (n=21 247) | Patients receiving combination antiretroviral therapy (n=24 444) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 34 (28–41) | 37 (31–45) | |
| Female | 4813 (23%) | 7154 (29%) | |
| CD4 cell count (cells per μL) | 354 (264–448) | 230 (130–330) | |
| Log10 HIV-1 RNA | NA | 4·9 (4·4–5·3) | |
| Transmission group* | |||
| Heterosexual sex | 6961 (33%) | 11 382 (51%) | |
| Men who have sex with men | 11 874 (56%) | 8483 (38%) | |
| Other/unknown | 2412 (11%) | 2485 (11%) | |
| Year of enrolment | |||
| 1989–90 | 5784 (27%) | .. | |
| 1991–92 | 6586 (31%) | .. | |
| 1993–95 | 8877 (42%) | .. | |
| 1998–99 | .. | 7000 (29%) | |
| 2000–02 | .. | 9490 (39%) | |
| 2003–06 | .. | 7954 (33%) | |
| Initial combination antiretroviral therapy regimen | |||
| Protease inhibitor-based triple regimen | .. | 116 44 (48%) | |
| NNRTI-based triple regimen | .. | 8696 (36%) | |
| NRTI only | .. | 2347 (10%) | |
| Other† | .. | 1757 (7%) | |
| AIDS and death during follow-up | |||
| Total follow-up (years) | 68 253 | 81 071 | |
| Length of follow-up (years) | 3·1 (1·9–4·5) | 3·2 (1·5–5·3) | |
| Development of AIDS | 5356 (25%) | 1860 (8%) | |
| Deaths | 3630 (17%) | 808 (3%) | |
| AIDS or death | 5893 (28%) | 2366 (10%) | |
NA=not available. NNRTI=non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor. NRTI=nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor. Data are n (%) or median (IQR). Baseline is date of start of follow-up in the era before combination antiretroviral therapy, and date of start of treatment for patients receiving combination therapy.
Excluding 2064 patients from the Veterans Aging Cohort Study,31 in whom transmission group was classified only as injecting drug use or other.
Non-standard regimen consisting of more than one protease inhibitor and/or NNRTI, or more than three drugs (excluding ritonavir-boosting of protease inhibitors).