Table 1. Characteristics and immune status of each study group [25].
| Characteristic | HIV(−) (n = 20) | HIV(+) (n = 30) | ART(+) (n = 29) | P-values | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HIV(+) vs. HIV(−) | ART(+) vs. HIV(−) | HIV(+) vs. ART(+) | ||||
| Age (years) | 4.1 (2.0–8.3) | 5.9 (2.0–8.8) | 6.1 (3.6–8.6) | 0.048 | 0.009 | 0.44 |
| Gender, F/M | 8/12 | 13/17 | 12/17 | 0.82 | 0.92 | 0.89 |
| Height (cm) | 110 (80–130) | 107.5 (77–129.5) | 110 (90–130) | 0.88 | 0.42 | 0.41 |
| Body weight (kg) | 16 (9–35) | 17.3 (10–27) | 19.8 (12.0–32.8) | 0.47 | 0.14 | 0.14 |
| Hemoglobin (g/L) | 130.5 (114–141) | 121.5 (83–139) | 129 (104–157) | 0.001 | 0.74 | 0.001 |
| Total cholesterol (mmol/L) | 3.9 (3.2–5.0) | 2.8 (1.8–4.3) | 3.8 (2.8–5.3) | <0.001 | 0.57 | <0.001 |
| Fasting blood sugar (mmol/L) | 4.9 (4.2–5.3) | 3.8 (2.6–8.3) | 5.1 (3.5–6.0) | < 0.001 | 0.03 | <0.001 |
| WHO clinical stage, 2/1 | 1/29 | 5/24 | 0.10 | |||
| ART duration (years) | 3.5 (0.8–5.8) | |||||
| Age of ART initiation (years) | 2.7 (0.4–6.9) | |||||
| Viral load (log10 copies/μL) | 5.0 (3.2–6.5) | 3.6 (2.4–4.4)* | <0.001 | |||
| CD4+ cell count (cells/μL) | 1050 (693–2688) | 691 (97–1784) | 894 (244–1711) | 0.003 | 0.018 | 0.43 |
| Th1 count (cells/μL) | 136 (74–220) | 78 (25–227) | 147 (49–211) | 0.004 | 0.61 | 0.003 |
| Th2 count (cells/μL) | 822 (413–2196) | 532 (63–1375) | 553 (119–1369) | 0.017 | 0.009 | 0.98 |
| Th17 count (cells/μL) | 109 (51–192) | 45 (6–116) | 58 (23–144) | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.02 |
| Treg count (cells/μL) | 48 (16–94) | 14 (0–133) | 30 (9–71) | <0.001 | 0.004 | <0.001 |
| CD8+ cell count (cells/μL) | 1101 (634–2874) | 1417 (470–3127) | 1212 (769–2064) | 0.24 | 0.29 | 0.64 |
| Activated CD8+ cells (%) | 12.9 (5.8–38.6) | 28.3 (12.2–53.3) | 10.2 (5.0–27.7) | <0.001 | 0.33 | <0.001 |
| CD4+/CD8+ ratio | 1.03 (0.45–2.34) | 0.49 (0.06–1.18) | 0.66 (0.20–1.42) | <0.001 | 0.001 | 0.19 |
Values are given as the median (range) or the number of patients. F: female: M: male; HIV(+): children with HIV and not treated with ART; ART(+): children with HIV and treated with ART; HIV(−): children not infected with HIV. P-values are based on the Mann-Whitney U test, except for the gender and WHO clinical stage comparison, which is based on the chi-squared test or Fisher’s exact test.
*Viral load was undetectable in 22 children in the ART(+) group.