Table 1.
Study population
| Parameter | Control group | HIV infected ART naïve (n = 73) (Naïve) | p valuea | HIV infected 9 months on ART | p valueb |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ART naïve | |||||
| (n = 22) | (n = 73) | (n = 73) | |||
| (Controls) | (Naïve) | (ART) | |||
| Age (years) | 33 ± 7 | 32 ± 7 | 0.6 | – | – |
| Female sex | 11 (50%) | 33 (45%) | 0.6 | – | – |
| Monthly household income (South African rand per month) | |||||
| < 5000 | 4 (18%) | 53 (73%) | 0.02 | – | – |
| 5000 to 20,000 | 14 (77%) | 19 (26%) | |||
| > 20,000 | 4 (18%) | 1 (1%) | |||
| Smoking history | 6 (27%) | 36 (49%) | 0.07 | 37 (51%) | |
| Ethanol (units per week) | 0.5 (0 to 7) | 4 (0 to 12) | 0.2 | 0 (0 to 11) | 0.01 |
| Waist circumference (cm) | 95 ± 18 | 80 ± 9 | < 0.001 | 82 ± 10 | 0.06 |
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | 30 ± 8 | 23 ± 4 | < 0.001 | 24 ± 4 | < 0.001 |
| World Health Organisation HIV clinical stage | |||||
| I | – | 28 (38%) | – | 28 (38%) | – |
| II | 19 (26%) | 19 (26%) | |||
| III | 25 (34%) | 24 (34%) | |||
| IV | 1 (1%) | 2 (1%) | |||
| On treatment for TB | 10 (14%) | – | 2* (3%) | – | |
| Pulmonary | – | 8 | 0 | ||
| Extra-pulmonary | 2 | 2 | |||
| Days since HIV diagnosis | – | 8 (5 to 26) | - | 300 (283 to 389) | – |
| Time to interim follow up (months) | – | – | – | 4 (3 to 5) | – |
| Time to 9 months follow up (months) | – | – | – | 9 (9 to 13) | – |
| History of proven COVID-19 (mild disease) | 1 (5%) | None | 1 (1%) | – | |
| Antibody evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in unimmunised persons | None | Not performed at baseline | – | 18 (25%) | – |
| Medications | |||||
| Salbutamol metered dose inhaler | 1 (5%) | 1 (1%) | – | 1 (1%) | – |
| Rifampicin/isoniazid/pyrazinamide/ethambutol | – | 10 (14%) | 2 (3%) | ||
| Trimethoprim/sulphamethoxazole | – | 21 (29%) | 14 (19%) | ||
| Isoniazid prophylaxis | – | 1 (1%) | 43 (59%) | ||
| Pyridoxine | – | 10 (14%) | 43 (59%) | ||
| Tenofovir/lamivudine/dolutegravir | – | Naïve | 71 (97%) | ||
| Losartan | – | – | 2 (3%) | ||
| Amlodipine/hydrochlorothiazide | – | 1 (2%) | 3 (4%) | ||
| Statins | – | – | 1 (1%) | ||
| Clinical course on ART | |||||
| Immunological failure** at interim or final follow up | – | – | – | 15 (21%) | – |
| Viral load > 200 copies/ml at interim or 9 months | – | – | – | 15 (21%) | – |
| 6 min walk test distance (m) | 637 ± 84 | 618 ± 92 | 0.4 | 621 ± 75 | 0.7 |
Bold values indicate p value of ≤ 0.05
Continuous variables are mean ± standard deviation or median (interquartile range) unless otherwise specified
HIV Human immunodeficiency virus, TB Tuberculous disease, COVID-19 Coronavirus disease-19, SARS-CoV 2 Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2, ART Antiretroviral therapy
aControls vs naïve
bNaïve vs ART
*One additional patient developed tuberculosis after recruitment
**Failure was defined as a CD4 drop to below baseline or a 50% decrease from the on-treatment peak value