Pretreatment factors associated with 3-year (144-week) virologic and immunologic responses to potent antiretroviral therapy.
OBJECTIVE
To examine pretreatment factors associated with longer term (144 weeks) responses to antiretroviral therapy (ART).


METHODS
Of 1498 ART-naive subjects randomized to ART regimens, including > or =3 agents, 1083 patients who had plasma HIV RNA (vRNA) levels and CD4 cell counts at baseline and week 144 were analyzed. Primary baseline factors evaluated were CD4 cell count, vRNA level, gender, race, and age, using multivariable Cox, log-binomial, and linear regression models.


RESULTS
Shorter time to achieving a vRNA level <50 copies/mL was associated with lower baseline vRNA level (P < 0.001), older age (P = 0.007), and lower baseline CD4 cell count (P = 0.055). After adjusting for race, gender, and baseline CD4 cell count, older age was associated with a vRNA level <50 copies/mL at week 144 (P = 0.018). Greater CD4 count increases from baseline to week 144 (mean = 284 cells/microL) were seen in younger men, blacks, and subjects with higher pretreatment vRNA levels; the effect of pretreatment vRNA level was most apparent in women.


CONCLUSIONS
Older age was the most important baseline predictor of a vRNA level <50 copies/mL at week 144; lower pretreatment vRNA level and older age were the most important predictors of time to a vRNA level <50 copies/mL. The influence of pretreatment factors on increases in CD4 cell counts differed between men and women.
Bosch
Ronald J
RJ
Center for Biostatistics in AIDS Research, Harvard University School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA. rbosch@hsph.harvard.edu
Bennett
Kara
K
Collier
Ann C
AC
Zackin
Robert
R
Benson
Constance A
CA
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D019380:Anti-HIV Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012737:Sex Factors; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D019380:Anti-HIV Agents; D012367:RNA, Viral