Table 1. Characteristics of the study population.
| Variables | N | Genital HIV RNA VL <40 copies /mL | Genital HIV RNA VL ≥40 copies/mL | P value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N = 132 | N = 111 | |||
| Age# (mean years, SD) | 238 | 32.73 (7.76) | 35.52 (8.44) | 0.0089* |
| Education level (N,%) | 237 | |||
| None | 14 (11) | 9 (8) | 0.3602 | |
| Post-secondary | 3 (2) | 7 (6) | ||
| Primary school or less | 70 (55) | 54 (5) | ||
| Secondary school or less | 41 (32) | 39 (36) | ||
| Pelvic abnormality detected (N, %) | 243 | 89 (67) | 73 (66) | 0.7866 |
| Family planning method (N, %) | 240 | |||
| None | 95 (73) | 92 (84) | 0.2142 | |
| Pill | 7 (5) | 3 (3) | ||
| Injectable | 20 (15) | 11 (1) | ||
| Implants | 7 (5) | 2 (2) | ||
| Intra Uterine device | 1 (1) | 2 (2) | ||
| Use of any female contraception method (N,%) | 240 | 35 (27) | 18 (16) | 0.0608 |
| Condom use during the last sex act (N,%) | 235 | 57 (44) | 44 (42) | 0.6934 |
| WHO disease stage class (N,%) | 233 | |||
| I | 97 (76) | 78 (74) | 0.3609 | |
| II | 23 (18) | 16 (15) | ||
| III | 6 (5) | 11 (1) | ||
| IV | 1 (1) | 1 (1) | ||
| Marital status (N,%) | ||||
| Married | 240 | 74 (57) | 56 (51) | 0.6444 |
| Divorced | 19 (15) | 18 (16) | ||
| Widowed | 30 (23) | 26 (24) | ||
| Single | 7 (5) | 10 (9) | ||
| N. gonorrhea infection (N,%) | 188 | 5 (5) | 14 (16) | 0.027* |
| C. trachomatis infection (N,%) | 188 | 1 (1) | 4 (4) | 0.1913 |
| H. simplex type 2 infection (N,%) | 239 | 111 (85) | 101 (93) | 0.1004 |
| Syphilis infection (N,%) | 238 | 3 (2) | 5 (5) | 0.475 |
| T vaginalis infection (N,%) | 184 | 9 (9) | 9 (11) | 0.8048 |
| Any concomitant STI (N,%) | 222 | 111 (94) | 102 (98) | 0.1787 |
| Genital HIV RNA [Log10 copies/mL (mean, SD; min-max)] | 243 | 1.3 (0; 1.3–1.3) | 3.24 (0.95; 2.64–6.48) | 0* |
| Plasma HIV RNA [Log10 copies/mL (mean, SD; min-max)] | 239 | 3.53 (1.13; 1.3–5.96) | 4.51 (0.88; 2.64–6.48) | 0* |
| CD4 count [Log10 cells/μL (mean, SD; min-max)] | 243 | 2.63 (0.34; 0.3–3.88) | 2.46 (0.29;1.54–3.06) | 0.0001* |
| Genital APOBEC3G [Log10 copies/106 cells (mean, SD; min-max)] | 93 | 4.47 (0.67; 2.6–5.72) | 4.5 (0.71; 3.1–6.09) | 0.8136 |
| Genital BST2 [(Log10 copies/106 cells (mean, SD; min-max)] | 35 | 1.95 (0.8; 0.48–3.39) | 1.4 (0.62; 0–2.21) | 0.0315* |
| APOBEC3G in PBMC [(Log10 copies/106 cells (mean, SD; min-max)] | 61 | 5.03 (0.84; 3.76–6.82) | 5 (0.9; 3.52–7.29) | 0.9284 |
| BST2 in PBMCs [(Log10 copies/106 cells (mean, SD; min-max)] | 61 | 0.09 (2.11; -2.77–2.57) | 0.36 (-3.4–2.86) | 0.621 |
| IL-8 [log10 pg/mL (mean, SD; min-max)] | 225 | 2.49 (0.91; 1.3–4.41) | 3 (0.95; 1.3–4.89) | 0.0001* |
| IP-10 [log10 pg/mL (mean, SD; min-max)] | 225 | 3.06 (1.07; 0.58–6.34) | 3.33 (1.07; 0.58–5.66) | 0.0584 |
| MIP-1 β [log10 pg/mL (mean, SD; min-max)] | 225 | -0.04 (0.64; -0.8–2.28) | 0.23 (0.83; 1.18–4.88) | 0.0082* |
| VEGF [log10 pg/mL (mean, SD; min-max)] | 225 | 2.88 (0.86; 1.18–4.91) | 3.21 (0.88; 2–3.78) | 0.0047* |
| IL-1β [log10 pg/mL (mean, SD; min-max)] | 225 | -0.02 (1.56; 2–3.78) | 1.03 (1.52; 2–2.44) | 0* |
| Detectable IL-1RA (N, %) | 225 | 121 (99) | 102 (99) | 1 |
| Detectable IL-6 (N, %) | 225 | 57 (47) | 61 (59) | 0.0813 |
| Detectable G-CSF (N, %) | 225 | 83 (68) | 87 (84) | 0.005* |
| Detectable MCP-1 (N, %) | 225 | 77 (63) | 70 (68) | 0.4838 |
| Detectable IL-1α (N, %) | 225 | 72 (59) | 68 (66) | 0.3342 |
Groups of participants with genital viral load (GVL) < 40 HIV RNA copies/mL (N = 132) versus GVL≥40 HIV RNA copies/mL (N = 111) at baseline are compared. Comparison is made using t-test for continuous and Chi-square for dichotomous variables. Significant differences are highlighted with*.