Table 1. Description of baseline cohort characteristics by months-on-antiretroviral therapy (ART), South Africa.
| Characteristics at time of study enrollment | All participants (n = 850) | Recent ART Initiators | ART Experienced | p-value | |
| (0–12 mo) | (>12 mo–24 mo) | (>24 mo) | |||
| n = 399 | n = 240 | n = 211 | |||
| Median (IQR) a | |||||
| Age, yrs | 30 (27–33) | 30 (27–32) | 30 (27–33) | 32 (28–34) | 0.008 |
| Monthly income, USD | 270 (149–473) | 270 (135–405) | 270 (162–473) | 323 (189–541) | 0.012 |
| Time on ART, months | 13 (5–24) | 5 (2–8) | 17 (14–20) | 37 (30–48) | <0.001 |
| CD4 count at enrollment, cells/µl | 320 (178–469) | 183 (124–301) | 381 (284–515) | 503 (366–650) | <0.001 |
| Most recent HIV-1 Viral load, log10 (copies/ml) b | 1.7 (1.7–1.8) | 1.7 (1.7–2.8) | 1.7 (1.7–1.7) | 1.7 (1.7–1.7) | <0.001 |
| Number of living children | 1 (1–2) | 1 (0–2) | 1 (1–2) | 1 (1–2) | 0.013 |
| Relationship duration, yrs c | 4 (2–7) | 3 (1–6) | 5 (2–7) | 4 (2–8) | 0.065 |
| Time since last pregnancy, yrs d | 4 (2–8) | 5 (2–8) | 3 (1–7) | 3 (2–7) | <0.002 |
| n (%) | |||||
| Employed | 510 (60) | 222 (56) | 145 (60) | 143 (68) | 0.014 |
| Education completed | |||||
| None – grade 10 | 218 (26) | 121 (30) | 55 (23) | 42 (20) | 0.020 |
| Grade 11–12 | 528 (62) | 232 (58) | 160 (67) | 136 (64) | |
| Post-grad degree or certificate | 104 (12) | 46 (12) | 136 (10) | 33 (16) | |
| In a relationship | 790 (93) | 365 (91) | 227 (95) | 198 (94) | 0.280 |
| Multiple current partners | 100 (12) | 48 (12) | 18 (8) | 34 (16) | 0.018 |
| Sexually active past 3 mos. | 758 (89) | 345 (86) | 221 (92) | 192 (91) | 0.053 |
| Married/Cohabitating | 378 (44) | 185 (46) | 102 (43) | 91 (43) | 0.574 |
| Disclosure to main partner c | 640 (81) | 294 (81) | 189 (83) | 157 (79) | 0.555 |
| Partner HIV status c | |||||
| HIV-negative | 200 (25) | 93 (25) | 54 (24) | 53 (27) | 0.881 |
| HIV-positive | 312 (40) | 141 (39) | 90 (39) | 81 (41) | |
| Unknown HIV-status | 278 (35) | 131 (36) | 83 (37) | 64 (32) | |
| ≥1 living child with current partner c | 324 (41) | 136 (37) | 105 (46) | 83 (42) | 0.098 |
| Currently trying to conceive | 102 (12) | 58 (15) | 19 (8) | 25 (12) | 0.044 |
| Using hormonal contraception | 243 (29) | 91 (23) | 82 (34) | 70 (33) | 0.002 |
| Experienced violence in current or past relationship | 86 (10) | 50 (13) | 21 (9) | 15 (7) | 0.076 |
| Pregnant during or since HIV diagnosis | 380 (45) | 123 (31) | 129 (54) | 128 (61) | <0.001 |
| Normal menstrual cycle during past 3 months | 554 (65) | 273 (68) | 141 (59) | 140 (66) | 0.042 |
a
IQR = interquartile range;
b
n = 834;
c
Restricted to participants in a current relationship (n = 790);
d
Restricted to participants with a prior pregnancy (n = 760).