Table 1. Characteristics of 194 HIV-positive US military beneficiaries at time of ALT increase, 1985–2009*.
| Characteristic† | Total cohort | HEV seropositive,‡ n = 13 | HEV seronegative, n = 181 | Odds ratio | p value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Demographics | |||||
| Age, y | 34 (30–40) | 35 (32–40) | 34 (29–40) | 1.01 | 0.66 |
| Male gender | 185 (95) | 13 (100) | 172 (95) | – | – |
| Ethnicity | 0.4 | ||||
| White | 82 (42) | 7 (54) | 75 (41) | Referent | |
| African American | 77 (40) | 4 (31) | 73 (40) | 0.59 | |
| Hispanic | 29 (15) | 1 (8) | 28 (16) | 0.38 | |
| Other | 6 (3) | 1 (8) | 5 (3) | 2.14 | |
| Military status | 0.32 | ||||
| Active duty | 98 (50) | 4 (31) | 94 (52) | Referent | |
| Retired | 85 (44) | 8 (61) | 77 (43) | 2.44 | |
| Spouse/dependent | 11 (6) | 1 (8) | 10 (5) | 2.35 | |
| Overseas travel§ | 48/127 (38) | 1/5 (20) | 47/122 (39) | 0.4 | 0.65 |
| Liver function test results | |||||
| Timing of blood collection after ALT increase, d | 27 (0–104) | 31 (7–107) | 23 (0–105) | 1.0 | 0.78 |
| ALT level, IU/L | 440 (322–812) | 367 (241–483) | 454 (333–821) | 0.99 | 0.63 |
| AST level, IU/L | 262 (183–653) | 297 (152–474) | 260 (185–693) | 1.0 | 0.66 |
| Clinical conditions | |||||
| Gonorrhea§ | 54 (28% | 2 (15) | 52 (29) | 0.44 | 0.36 |
| Chlamydia/nonspecific urethritis§ | 20 (10) | 1 (8) | 19 (11) | 0.7 | 1.0 |
| Syphilis§ | 32 (17) | 4 (31) | 28 (16) | 2.38 | 0.24 |
| Any STI§¶ | 84 (44) | 6 (46) | 78 (44) | 1.1 | 1.0 |
| Hepatitis B# | |||||
| Prior infection | 97 (51) | 8 (62) | 89 (50) | 1.6 | 0.57 |
| Chronic | 30 (15) | 3 (23) | 27 (15) | 1.69 | 0.43 |
| Hepatitis C# | 12 (6) | 2 (15) | 10 (6) | 3.05 | 0.19 |
| HIV–specific factors | |||||
| HIV infection duration, y | 5 (1.8–8.8) | 5.3 (2.3–10.0) | 4.9 (1.7–8.6) | 1.01 | 0.89 |
| CD4 cell count, cells/mm3 | 436 (239–627) | 217 (9–589) | 439 (258–633) | 0.79 | 0.07 |
| <200 | 40 (21) | 6 (46) | 34 (19) | Referent | – |
| 200–499 | 80 (41) | 3 (23) | 77 (42) | 0.22 | 0.06 |
| >500 | 74 (38) | 4 (31) | 70 (39) | 0.32 | 0.10 |
| Median HIV RNA level, log10 copies/mL§ | 4.1 (2.9–4.9) | 4.7 (3.9–5.4) | 4.1 (2.9–4.8) | 1.96 | 0.04 |
| HIV RNA copies/mL | |||||
| <1,000 | 48 (27) | 1 (9) | 47 (28) | Referent | – |
| 1,000–10,000 | 36 (20) | 2 (18) | 34 (20) | 2.76 | 0.57 |
| >10,000 | 96 (53) | 8 (73) | 88 (52) | 4.27 | 0.27 |
| Antiretroviral drug use | 55 (28) | 1 (8) | 54 (30) | 0.2 | 0.12 |
*ALT, alanine aminotransferase; HEV, hepatitis E virus; AST, aspartate aminotransferase; STI, sexually transmitted infection. †Characteristics are expressed as number (percent) for categorical variables and medians (interquartile range) for continuous variables. ‡IgM and/or IgG against HEV. §Some data were missing: for overseas travel n = 127; STIs n = 191; HIV RNA level n = 180. ¶Gonorrhea, chlamydial infection, nonspecific urethritis, or syphilis. #Based on clinical diagnoses; similar results noted when prior hepatitis B virus infection was defined as total positive for hepatitis B virus core antigen, chronic hepatitis B infection as positive for hepatitis B virus surface antigen, and hepatitis C infection as positive for IgG against hepatitis C virus.