Table 1. Baseline Characteristics of the Participants*.
| Characteristic | HIV-1–Infected Participants | HIV-1–Uninfected Participants† | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Early Therapy (N = 886) |
Delayed Therapy (N = 877) |
Early Therapy (N = 893) |
Delayed Therapy (N = 882) |
|
| Demographic | ||||
|
| ||||
| Female sex — no. (%) | 432 (49) | 441 (50) | 441 (49) | 418 (47) |
|
| ||||
| Age group — no. (%) | ||||
|
| ||||
| 18–25 yr | 145 (16) | 161 (18) | 154 (17) | 174 (20) |
|
| ||||
| 26–40 yr | 556 (63) | 547 (62) | 537 (60) | 526 (60) |
|
| ||||
| >40 yr | 185 (21) | 169 (19) | 202 (23) | 182 (21) |
|
| ||||
| Education level — no. (%) | ||||
|
| ||||
| No schooling | 101 (11) | 69 (8) | 112 (13) | 77 (9) |
|
| ||||
| Primary schooling | 360 (41) | 347 (40) | 317 (35) | 344 (39) |
|
| ||||
| Secondary schooling | 346 (39) | 388 (44) | 373 (42) | 367 (42) |
|
| ||||
| Postsecondary schooling | 79 (9) | 72 (8) | 91 (10) | 93 (11) |
|
| ||||
| Missing data | 0 | 1 (<1) | 0 | 1 (<1) |
|
| ||||
| Marital status — no. (%) | ||||
|
| ||||
| Single | 49 (6) | 38 (4) | 53 (6) | 43 (5) |
|
| ||||
| Married or living with partner | 833 (94) | 833 (95) | 834 (93) | 833 (94) |
|
| ||||
| Widowed, separated, or divorced | 4 (<1) | 6 (1) | 6 (1) | 6 (1) |
|
| ||||
| Region — no. (%) | ||||
|
| ||||
| North or South America | 142 (16) | 136 (16) | 145 (16) | 139 (16) |
|
| ||||
| Asia | 267 (30) | 264 (30) | 268 (30) | 264 (30) |
|
| ||||
| Africa | 477 (54) | 477 (54) | 480 (54) | 479 (54) |
|
| ||||
| Sexual activity — no. (%) | ||||
|
| ||||
| Any unprotected sex in past week | 37 (4) | 51 (6) | 49 (5) | 53 (6) |
|
| ||||
| No. of sex partners in past 3 mo | ||||
|
| ||||
| 0–1 | 831 (94) | 833 (95) | 863 (97) | 844 (96) |
|
| ||||
| 2–4 | 48 (5) | 41 (5) | 29 (3) | 36 (4) |
|
| ||||
| >4 | 7 (1) | 2 (<1) | 1 (<1) | 1 (<1) |
|
| ||||
| Missing data | 0 | 1 (<1) | 0 | 1 (<1) |
|
| ||||
| No. of sexual encounters in past week | ||||
|
| ||||
| 0 | 246 (28) | 225 (26) | 253 (28) | 240 (27) |
|
| ||||
| 1–2 | 430 (49) | 438 (50) | 410 (46) | 433 (49) |
|
| ||||
| 3–4 | 156 (18) | 158 (18) | 180 (20) | 151 (17) |
|
| ||||
| >4 | 54 (6) | 55 (6) | 50 (6) | 57 (6) |
|
| ||||
| Missing data | 0 | 1 (<1) | 0 | 1 (<1) |
|
| ||||
| Clinical | ||||
|
| ||||
| CD4 count — no./mm3 | ||||
|
| ||||
| Median | 442 | 428 | ||
|
| ||||
| Interquartile range | 373–522 | 357–522 | NA | NA |
|
| ||||
| Plasma RNA viral load — no. (%) | ||||
|
| ||||
| <400 copies/ml | 54 (6) | 43 (5) | NA | NA |
|
| ||||
| 400–1000 copies/ml | 24 (3) | 33 (4) | NA | NA |
|
| ||||
| 1001–10,000 copies/ml | 212 (24) | 183 (21) | NA | NA |
|
| ||||
| 10,001–100,000 copies/ml | 407 (46) | 432 (49) | NA | NA |
|
| ||||
| 100,001–1 million copies/ml | 186 (21) | 186 (21) | NA | NA |
|
| ||||
| Missing data | 3 (<1) | 4 (<1) | NA | NA |
|
| ||||
| Women reporting previous antiretroviral therapy during pregnancy — no./total no. (%) | 115/432 (27) | 119/441 (27) | NA | NA |
|
| ||||
| Type of serodiscordancy — no. (%) | ||||
|
| ||||
| HIV-positive man, HIV-negative woman | 436 (49) | 417 (48) | NA | NA |
|
| ||||
| HIV-positive woman, HIV-negative man | 431 (49) | 441 (50) | NA | NA |
|
| ||||
| HIV-positive man, HIV-negative man | 18 (2) | 19 (2) | NA | NA |
|
| ||||
| HIV positive woman, HIV-negative woman | 1 (<1) | 0 | NA | NA |
*
Data regarding the incidence of sexually transmitted infections are provided in the Supplementary Appendix. HIV denotes human immunodeficiency virus, and NA not applicable.
†
Some participants with HIV-1 infection had more than one uninfected partner during the study period.