Table 1. Patients background characteristics.
| Characteristic | Categories | All Groups | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (s) | ART initiated within 7 days following diagnosis | ART initiated after 7 days following diagnosis | ||||||
| n | % | n | % | n | % | P-value | ||
| Sex | Male | 1099 | 38.6 | 1747 | 40.4 | 2846 | 37.7 | 0.339 |
| Female | 2132 | 66.0 | 2575 | 59.6 | 4707 | 62.3 | <0.001 | |
| Age (years) | Median (IQR) | 30 (25–37) | 30 (25–38) | 30 (25–37) | ||||
| 18–24 | 769 | 23.8 | 892 | 20.6 | 1661 | 22.0 | 0.117 | |
| 25–29 | 846 | 26.2 | 1064 | 24.6 | 1910 | 25.3 | 0.424 | |
| 30–39 | 987 | 30.6 | 1509 | 34.9 | 2496 | 33.1 | 0.026 | |
| 40–49 | 428 | 13.3 | 606 | 14.0 | 1034 | 13.7 | 0.747 | |
| 50+ | 201 | 6.2 | 251 | 5.8 | 452 | 6.0 | 0.859 | |
| Marital Status | Never Married | 204 | 6.3 | 318 | 7.4 | 522 | 6.9 | 0.630 |
| Married | 1447 | 44.8 | 1686 | 39.0 | 3133 | 41.5 | 0.001 | |
| Divorced/Separated | 630 | 19.5 | 930 | 21.5 | 1560 | 20.6 | 0.339 | |
| Widowed | 43 | 1.3 | 80 | 1.9 | 123 | 1.6 | 0.806 | |
| Missing | 907 | 28.1 | 1308 | 30.3 | 2215 | 29.3 | 0.264 | |
| Education | None | 216 | 6.7 | 348 | 8.1 | 564 | 7.5 | 0.541 |
| Primary | 1648 | 51.0 | 2416 | 55.9 | 4064 | 53.8 | 0.002 | |
| Secondary | 965 | 29.9 | 1143 | 26.5 | 2108 | 27.9 | 0.083 | |
| Post-secondary | 149 | 4.6 | 155 | 3.6 | 304 | 4.0 | 0.660 | |
| Missing | 253 | 7.8 | 260 | 6.0 | 513 | 6.8 | 0.421 | |
| Has Telephone | No | 1337 | 41.4 | 2507 | 58.0 | 3844 | 50.9 | <0.001 |
| Yes | 1894 | 58.6 | 1815 | 42.0 | 3709 | 49.1 | <0.001 | |
| Baseline Weight (Kgs) | Mean (SD) | 55 (10.9) | 55 (10.5) | 55(10.7) | ||||
| <45 | 310 | 9.7 | 453 | 10.5 | 763 | 10.2 | 0.720 | |
| 45–60 | 1963 | 61.6 | 2692 | 62.5 | 4655 | 62.1 | 0.532 | |
| 61+ | 916 | 28.7 | 1163 | 27.0 | 2079 | 27.7 | 0.390 | |
| Baseline BMI | ≤18.50 | 376 | 21.9 | 605 | 21.2 | 981 | 21.5 | 0.795 |
| 18.51–29.99 | 1293 | 75.3 | 2168 | 75.9 | 3461 | 75.7 | 0.691 | |
| ≥30 | 48 | 2.8 | 83 | 2.9 | 131 | 2.9 | 0.974 | |
| Baseline CD4 cell count (μ/ml) | Median (IQR) | 300 (171–440) | 348(190–520) | 327 (180–485) | ||||
| <200 | 932 | 30.9 | 1137 | 26.9 | 2069 | 28.5 | 0.045 | |
| 200–350 | 864 | 59.6 | 995 | 50.4 | 1859 | 25.7 | <0.001 | |
| ≥351 | 1219 | 40.4 | 2100 | 49.6 | 3319 | 45.8 | <0.001 | |
| Baseline WHO clinical stage | 1&2 | 2836 | 88.1 | 3605 | 83.6 | 6441 | 85.5 | <0.001 |
| 3&4 | 383 | 11.9 | 710 | 16.5 | 1093 | 14.5 | 0.042 | |
| TB status | No signs | 2961 | 91.6 | 3750 | 86.8 | 6711 | 88.9 | <0.001 |
| TB Suspect | 229 | 7.1 | 216 | 5.0 | 445 | 5.9 | 0.354 | |
| TB Diagnosed | 5 | 0.2 | 255 | 5.9 | 260 | 3.4 | 0.712 | |
| TB treatment | 18 | 0.6 | 90 | 2.1 | 108 | 1.4 | 0.666 | |
| Missing | 18 | 0.6 | 11 | 0.3 | 29 | 0.4 | 0.910 | |
| Baseline ART regimen | ABC based | 14 | 0.4 | 10 | 0.2 | 24 | 0.3 | 0.932 |
| AZT based | 468 | 14.5 | 1317 | 30.5 | 1785 | 23.6 | <0.001 | |
| TDF based | 2747 | 85.0 | 2990 | 69.2 | 5737 | 76.0 | <0.001 | |
| Other | 2 | 0.1 | 5 | 0.1 | 7 | 0.1 | 0.999 | |
| Year of Starting ART | 2012 | 292 | 9.0 | 1056 | 24.4 | 1348 | 17.9 | <0.001 |
| 2013 | 538 | 16.7 | 1253 | 29.0 | 1791 | 23.7 | <0.001 | |
| 2014 | 940 | 29.1 | 980 | 22.7 | 1920 | 25.4 | 0.001 | |
| 2015 | 993 | 30.7 | 782 | 18.1 | 1775 | 23.5 | <0.001 | |
| 2016 | 468 | 14.5 | 251 | 5.8 | 719 | 9.5 | 0.001 | |