Table 1. Children's characteristics.
| HIV-negative | HIV-positive | P | |
| (N = 427) | (N = 40) | ||
| Demographic | |||
| Boys, N (%) | 236 (55.3) | 15 (37.5) | 0.03 |
| Age in months, median (IQR) | 13 (9 ; 21) | 16 (9 ; 24) | 0.18 |
| Age of the mother in years*, median (IQR) | 26 (22 ; 30) | 28 (25 ; 34) | 0.10 |
| Urban versus rural, N (%) | 244 (56.9) | 26 (65.0) | 0.32 |
| Clinical | |||
| Type of malnutrition | 0.51 | ||
| Marasmus | 254 (59.5) | 29 (72.5) | |
| Kwashiorkor | 52 (12.2) | 3 (7.5) | |
| Mixed form | 65 (15.2) | 3 (7.5) | |
| Denutrition** | 56 (13.1) | 5 (12.5) | |
| Previous hospitalisation | <0.001 | ||
| No | 409 (95.3) | 28 (70.0) | |
| Yes, for malnutrition | 9 (2.1) | 6 (15.0) | |
| Yes, for other reason | 11 (2.6) | 6 (15.0) | |
| % of the normal weight for the height, median (IQR) | 67.0 (62.8 ; 71.0) | 66.5 (63.6 ; 71.2) | 0.50 |
| Weight-for-age z-score***, median (IQR) | −4.7 (−5.3 ; −3.9) | −4.7 (−5.5 ; −3.9) | 0.75 |
| Height-for-age z-score, median (IQR) | −2.4 (−3.6 ; −1.5) | −3.0 (−4.1 ; −1.6) | 0.23 |
| Main other diagnosis, N (%) | |||
| Anaemia | 56 (13.1) | 3 (7.5) | 0.31 |
| Pneumonia | 104 (24.2) | 10 (25.0) | 0.93 |
| Malaria | 106 (24.7) | 6 (15.0) | 0.16 |
| Gastro-enteritis | 78 (18.2) | 4 (10.0) | 0.19 |
*available in 417 and 38 mothers.
**this applies to children ≤6 months of age.
***available in 423 HIV-negative and 38 HIV-positive children.
IQR: inter quartile range.