Table 1 Baseline characteristics of ART-naïve children beginning antiretroviral therapy

Median age, y (IQR)

5.8 (3.0-9.0)

5.6 (2.8-8.9)

6.7 (4.3-10.0)

5.8 (3.2-9.3)

0.0001

Rural

Age group categories, n (%)

0.001

Rural

<1 year

129 (5.5)

112 (6.5)

3 (1.3)

14 (3.7)

1-2 yrs

246 (10.6)

188 (10.9)

17 (7.5)

41 (10.9)

2-5 yrs

834 (35.8)

628 (36.4)

72 (31.6)

134 (35.5)

6-10 yrs

814 (34.8)

573 (33.2)

94 (41.2)

145 (38.5)

≥11 yrs

311 (13.3)

226 (13.1)

42 (18.4)

43 (11.4)

Female, n (%)

1174 (50.3)

887 (51.3)

98 (42.0)

189 (50.1)

0.059

Rural

WHO clinical stage, n (%), (n = 1836)

0.059

Rural

I/II

615 (33.5)

468 (33.1)

64 (41.8)

83 (31.0)

III/IV

1221 (66.5)

947 (66.9)

89 (58.2)

185 (69.0)

Weight-for-age z-score, mean (95% CI), (n = 1572)

-1.51 (-1.59 to -1.44)

-1.46 (-1.54 to -1.38)

-2.06 (-2.30 to -1.82)

-1.41 (-1.60 to -1.22)

<0.0001

Rural

Weight-for-age z-score < -3, n (%)

253 (16.1)

177 (15.0)

42 (25.9)

34 (14.9)

<0.002

Rural

Height-for-age z-score, mean (95% CI), (n = 359)

-1.96 (-2.11 to -1.82)

-1.91 (-2.01 to -1.75)

-2.26 (-2.70 to -1.82)

-1.96 (-2.26 to -1.27)

0.271

Severe clinical status, n (%), (n = 2057)

549 (26.7)

399 (25.9)

53 (27.0)

97 (30.3)

0.265

CD4 cell percentage; median (IQR), (n = 1425)

12.2 (7.0-18.0)

12.8 (7.1-19.0)

10.0 (6.0-14.2)

12.8 (6.3-18.1)

0.0003

Rural

Absolute CD4 cell count (cells/mm ³ ); median (IQR), (n = 1665)

271 (54-630)

301 (50-685)

212 (77-405)

206 (24-607)

0.0019

Urban

Severe immunodeficiency, n (%), (n = 1772)

1285 (72.5)

933 (71.5)

172 (79.6)

180 (72.0)

0.045

Rural

TB treatment at ART initiation, n (%), (n = 2291)

79 (3.5)

51 (3.0)

8 (3.5)

20 (5.3)

0.090

Initial ART regimen, n (%), (n = 2280)

NNRTI-based

1714 (75.2)^a

1211 (71.9)

210 (93.8)

293 (79.0)

<0.0001

Rural

PI-based

556 (24.4)^a

467 (27.7)

14 (6.3)

75 (20.2)

<0.0001

Rural

Including d4t

2147 (94.2)^b

1555 (92.3)

224 (100)

368 (99.2)

<0.0001

Urban

Including ZDV

143 (6.3)^b

137 (8.1)

0 (0)

6 (1.6)

<0.000

Urban

Province, n (%)

<0.0001

Urban

Western Cape

552 (23.7)

552 (31.9)

0 (0)

0 (0)

Eastern Cape

102 (4.4)

100 (5.8)

2 (0.9)

0 (0)

KwaZulu-Natal

1654 (70.9)

1065(61.7)

212 (93.0)

377 (100)

Mpumalanga

24 (1.0)

10 (0.6)

14 (6.1)

0 (0)