Table 1.

Derived binary variables used in the mediation analysis

Putative mediating factor	Variable used
HIV Statusa	HIV positive = [HIV test positive] OR [(if HIV test not done) self‐reported HIV positive]
Household crowding	[Number of occupants, including children]/number of sleeping rooms Crowded = 3 or more people per sleeping room
IAP	Pollution if: [household mainly heated using wood or charcoal] OR [(if cooking mostly undertaken inside main house AND not using stove with combustion chamber) mainly wood or charcoal used as fuel for cooking]
Smoking	Ever smokers (either current or ex‐smokers) compared with never smokers
Malnutrition	Yes = ‘Household relied on reducing the number of meals or food in‐take in the last 18 months.’
Diabetes	Yes = [Random blood glucose ≥11.1 mmol/L] OR [self‐reported diabetes]
Alcohol consumption	Ever consumed alcohol (daily, occasional or ex‐drinkers) compared with never consumed alcohol
Migration	Years lived outside community = [Current age in years] − [‘Years lived in community’] Yes = Ever lived outside community

IAP, indoor air pollution.

^aFor 16% of individuals in Zambia and 39% in SA, there was no information from either serology or self‐report. This was because these individuals did not give a blood sample for HIV testing, and either reported they had never tested for HIV or that they had tested but did not know/did not wish to disclose the result of their last HIV test.