title: The Clinical Significance of CD4 Counts in Asian and Caucasian HIV-Infected Populations: Results from TAHOD and AHOD.
abstract: The significance of interethnic variation in CD4 counts between Asian and Caucasian populations is not known. Patients on combination antiretroviral therapy from Treat Asia and Australian HIV Observational Databases (TAHOD, predominantly Asian, n = 3356; and AHOD, predominantly Caucasian, n = 2312, respectively) were followed for 23 144 person-years for AIDS/death and all-cause mortality endpoints. We calculated incidence-rates and used adjusted Cox regression to test for the interaction between cohort (TAHOD/AHOD) and time-updated CD4 count category (lagged by 3 months) for each of the endpoints. There were 382 AIDS/death events in TAHOD (rate: 4.06, 95%CI: 3.68-4.50) and 305 in AHOD (rate: 2.39, 95%CI: 2.13-2.67), per 100 person-years. At any given CD4 count category, the incidence-rates of endpoints were found to be similar between TAHOD and AHOD (in the adjusted models, P > .05 for the interaction term between cohort type and latest CD4 counts). At any given CD4 count, risk of AIDS or death was not found to vary by ethnicity, suggesting that the CD4 count thresholds for predicting outcomes defined in Caucasian populations may be equally valid in Asian populations.
authors.affiliation: National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research, Faculty of Medicine, UNSW, Sydney, Australia, aachhra@nchecr.unsw.edu.au.
authors.forename: Amit C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Achhra
authors.forename: Jialun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Jun Yong
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hoy
authors.forename: Fujie
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Templeton
authors.forename: Tuti
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Merati
authors.forename: Ian
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Woolley
authors.forename: Kathy
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Petoumenos
authors.forename: Janaki
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Amin
mesh_terms: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001208:Asia; D001315:Australia; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy; D006801:Humans
chemical_list: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents