Table 1.
Demographic and Epidemiologic Characteristics, Proviral Load, and Immunological Data of 414 HTLV-1–Infected Subjects, by Neurologic Status at Study Entry
| Characteristic | Without HAM/TSP (n = 251) | Probable or Possible HAM/TSP (n = 87) | HAM/TSP (n = 76) | P Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median age, y | 44.6 ± 12.2 | 47.9 ± 11.6 | 52.4 ± 14.0 | <.01a |
| Female sex | 143 (57.0) | 58 (66.7) | 51 (67.1) | .13b |
| Breastfed as infant (n = 203) | .15b | |||
| <1 y | 72 (58.5) | 24 (51.0) | 17 (51.5) | |
| 1–3 y | 39 (31.7) | 13 (27.7) | 14 (42.4) | |
| >3 y | 12 (9.8) | 10 (21.3) | 2 (6.1) | |
| Blood transfusion (n = 409) | 38 (15.4) | 22 (25.3) | 16 (21.3) | .09b |
| Intravenous drug use (n = 414) | 8 (3.2) | 4 (4.6) | 2 (2.7) | .76b |
| Homosexual activity (n = 285) | 16 (8.9) | 3 (5.5) | 2 (4.0) | .27b |
| HBV infection (n = 277) | 14 (7.7) | 8 (13.8) | 2 (5.3) | .26b |
| HCV infection (n = 276) | 10 (5.7) | 5 (8.5) | 3 (7.5) | .65b |
| Baseline proviral load (n = 251)c | 25 109 (1924–79 234) | 39 644 (3488–2701) | 148 938 (84 465–278 815) | <.01a |
| Baseline TNF-α (n = 257)d | 209 (0–769) | 346 (12–804) | 719 (240–1574) | <.01a |
| Baseline IFN-γ (n = 257)d | 866 (96–2036) | 711 (45–1678) | 2195 (773–3620) | <.01a |
Data are expressed as No. (%) unless otherwise specified.
Abbreviations: HAM/TSP, HTLV-1–associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis; HBV, hepatitis B virus; HCV, hepatitis C virus; HTLV-1, human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1; IFN-γ, interferon gamma; TNF-α, tumor necrosis factor alpha.
a One-way analysis of variance.
b χ2 test.
c Expressed as number of HTLV-1 copies per 106 peripheral blood mononuclear cells, median (interquartile range).
d Expressed as pg/mL, median (interquartile range).