Influence of Age on CD4 Cell Recovery in Human Immunodeficiency Virus–Infected Patients Receiving Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy: Evidence from the EuroSIDA Study

• Published in: The Journal of infectious diseases Vol. 183; no. 8; pp. 1290 - 1294
• Main Authors: Viard, Jean-Paul, Mocroft, Amanda, Chiesi, Antonio, Kirk, Ole, Røge, Birgit, Panos, George, Vetter, Norbert, Bruun, Johan N., Johnson, Margaret, Lundgren, Jens D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chicago, IL The University of Chicago Press 15.04.2001; University of Chicago Press; Oxford University Press
• Subjects: Adult; Age Factors; Age groups; AIDS; Analysis of Variance; Antibacterial agents; Antibiotics. Antiinfectious agents. Antiparasitic agents; Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active; Biological and medical sciences; CD4 antigen; CD4 Lymphocyte Count; CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes - immunology; Concise Communications; Confidence Intervals; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Highly active antiretroviral therapy; HIV; HIV infections; HIV Infections - drug therapy; HIV Infections - immunology; HIV Protease Inhibitors - therapeutic use; Human immunodeficiency virus; Human viral diseases; Humans; Infectious diseases; Lymphocytes; Male; Medical sciences; Modeling; Multivariate Analysis; Nadir; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Proportional Hazards Models; Regression Analysis; Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors - therapeutic use; T lymphocytes; Time Factors; Viral diseases; Viral diseases of the lymphoid tissue and the blood. Aids; Viruses; Human; Immunopathology; Retroviridae; AIDS; Lentivirus; Immune deficiency; Infection; Virus; Treatment; Viral disease; Antiviral; Human immunodeficiency virus; Viral load; Age
• ISSN: 0022-1899; 1537-6613
• DOI: 10.1086/319678

Influence of age on the CD4 cell response to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) was examined in 1956 patients (median age, 37.2 years) in the EuroSIDA study. Median initial CD4 cell count was 192×106 cells/L, follow-up was 31 months, and time to maximum CD4 cell response was 20 months. Age groups were not different for baseline CD4 cell count, baseline human immunodeficiency virus RNA load, or treatment history. CD4 cell increase, stratified by age quartiles, differed during months 3–36 of HAART (P=.023). Maximum CD4 cell increase from start of HAART differed by age group (P=.0003), as did maximum CD4 cell count (P<10-4). Multivariate analysis confirmed the inverse relationship between age and maximum CD4 cell response (P=.023). Time to a CD4 increase of >200×106 cells/L was shorter for patients in the younger age groups (P=.0026), as confirmed by multivariate analysis (P<10-4). Younger age may favor CD4 cell restoration because of preserved thymic function