Table 1.
Characteristics of patients by gender
| Characteristic | Overall (n = 521) | Women (n = 217) | Men (n = 304) | t–test / χ2 statistic | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Sociodemographic and clinical variables | |||||
| Age, mean (SD), y |
39.6 (8.8) |
37.1 (7.6) |
41.3 (9.1) |
5.50 |
<0.001* |
| Achieved more than primary education, % |
63.7 |
56.7 |
68.8 |
7.98 |
0.005* |
| Married, % |
67.0 |
53.5 |
76.6 |
30.8 |
<0.001* |
| Employed, % |
75.6 |
45.2 |
97.4 |
187.2 |
<0.001* |
| Urban residence, % |
35.3 |
33.6 |
36.5 |
0.46 |
0.50 |
| Tamil speaker, % |
19.6 |
17.1 |
21.4 |
1.51 |
0.22 |
| Telugu speaker, % |
76.4 |
81.6 |
72.7 |
5.52 |
0.02* |
| Heterosexual, % |
96.4 |
98.6 |
94.7 |
5.43 |
0.02* |
| Baseline CD4+ cell count, mean (SD) |
347.7 (493.3) |
396.8 (345.7) |
314.0 (571.1) |
1.64 |
0.10 |
|
Substance use variables | |||||
| Current alcohol use, % |
14.0 |
0 |
24.0 |
60.6 |
<0.001* |
| Injection drug use, % |
0.4 |
0 |
0.7 |
1.43 |
0.23 |
|
Depressive symptoms and internalized stigma | |||||
| PHQ–9 score, mean (SD) |
2.8 (3.3) |
2.8 (3.2) |
2.7 (3.4) |
0.41 |
0.68 |
| Probable depression, % |
9.6 |
10.6 |
8.9 |
0.43 |
0.51 |
| IARSS score, mean (SD) |
2.4 (1.7) |
2.3 (1.6) |
2.5 (1.7) |
1.46 |
0.15 |
| It is difficult to tell people about my HIV infection, % |
80.6 |
80.2 |
80.9 |
0.04 |
0.83 |
| Being HIV positive makes me feel dirty, % |
28.6 |
26.3 |
30.3 |
0.99 |
0.32 |
| I feel guilty that I am HIV positive, % |
26.3 |
24.4 |
27.6 |
0.67 |
0.41 |
| I am ashamed that I am HIV positive, % |
13.4 |
10.6 |
15.5 |
2.57 |
0.11 |
| I sometimes feel worthless because I am HIV positive, % |
15.6 |
12.0 |
18.1 |
3.60 |
0.06 |
| I hide my HIV status from others, % | 77.7 | 76.0 | 79.0 | 0.62 | 0.43 |
y – years, SD – standard deviation, PHQ–9 – Patient Health Questionnaire–9, IARSS – Internalized AIDS–Related Stigma Scale
*P < 0.05.