Table 2 Characteristics of women living with HIV and their infants by timing of maternal ART initiation at 6/10 weeks and 6 months in Cape Town, South Africa and Lusaka, Zambia
Maternal Characteristics | Total (n, %) | Women who start ART during pregnancy | Women on ART at conception | P-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
395 | 139 (35) | 256 (65) | ||
Sociodemographic | ||||
 Age (median, IQR) years | 31 (26–35) | 28 (25–33) | 32 (28–36) | < 0.001 |
 Weight at 6/10 weeks (median, IQR) kg | 67 (57–80) | 65 (57–76) | 68 (57–82) | 0.21 |
 Weight at 6 months (median, IQR) kg | 66 (55–81) | 64 (55–78) | 68 (58–84) | 0.05 |
 Height (median, IQR) metres | 1.59 (1.55–1.63) | 1.58 (1.54–1.62) | 1.59 (1.55–1.63) | 0.07 |
 Maternal BMI at 6/10 weeks (kg/m2) | 27 (23–31) | 26 (23–31) | 27 (23–32) | 0.40 |
 Maternal BMI at 6 months (kg/m2) | 26 (23–32) | 25 (23–32) | 27 (23–33) | 0.12 |
 ART regimen | ||||
  TDF-XTC-EFV | 318 (80) | 119 (86) | 199 (77) | 0.08 |
  Other regimens | 77 (17) * | 20 (14) | 57 (20) |  |
ART duration in pregnancy (median, IQR) weeks | 37 (24–39) | 19 (14–25) | 38 (37–39) |  |
Education level completed | ||||
 Primary | 78 (20) | 29 (21) | 49 (19) | 0.34 |
 Secondary | 306 (77) | 104 (75) | 202 (79) |  |
 Tertiary (University) | 26 (411 (3)) | 6 (4) | 5 (2) |  |
Relationship with father of child | ||||
 Married/Cohabiting | 243 (62) | 90 (65) | 153 (60) | 0.33 |
 Not married/ non-cohabiting | 152 (38) | 49 (35) | 103 (40) |  |
Employment status | Â | Â | Â | Â |
 Formal employment | 106 (27) | 31 (22) | 75 (29) | 0.23 |
 Informal employment | 22 (6) | 10 (7) | 12 (5) |  |
 Unemployed/attending school | 267 (67) | 98 (70) | 169 (66) |  |
Child characteristics | ||||
 Child sex | ||||
  Male | 190 (48) | 65 (47) | 125 (49) | 0.69 |
  Female | 205 (52) | 74 (53) | 131 (51) |  |
 Age at 6/10 weeks (median, IQR) in days | 69 (49–73) | 68 (47–73) | 70 (50–73) | 0.23 |
 Age at 6 months (median, IQR) in weeks | 26 (26–28) | 26 (26–28) | 26 (26–28) | 0.15 |
 Infant weight at birth (median, IQR) kg | ||||
  Male | 3.1 (2.8–3.5) | 3.2 (2.8–3.5) | 3.1 (2.9–3.4) | 0.44 |
  Female | 3.1 (2.8–3.3) | 3.1 (2.8–3.3) | 3.0 (2.8–3.3) | 0.64 |
 Weight at 6/10 weeks (median, IQR) kg | ||||
  Male | 5.3 (4.7–5.9) | 5.2 (4.6–5.6) | 5.5 (4.7–6.0) | 0.04 |
  Female | 5.0 (4.5–5.7) | 5.1 (4.6–5.7) | 5.0 (4.4–5.6) | 0.54 |
 Weight at 6 months (median, IQR) kg | ||||
  Male | 7.6 (7.0–8.6) | 7.5 (7.0–8.2) | 7.8 (7.1–8.7) | 0.11 |
  Female | 7.2 (6.7–8.0) | 7.4 (6.9–8.0) | 7.2 (6.6–8.0) | 0.25 |
 Length at 6/10 weeks (median, IQR) cm | ||||
  Male | 56 (54–58) | 55 (53–58) | 57 (54–58) | 0.28 |
  Female | 56 (53–58) | 55 (53–58) | 56 (53–58) | 0.63 |
 Infant length at 6 months (median, IQR) cm | ||||
  Male | 65 (63–67) | 65 (63–67) | 65 (63–67) | 0.66 |
  Female | 64 (62–66) | 64 (61–66) | 64 (62–66) | 0.36 |
 Z-scores at 6/10 weeks, mean (SD) | ||||
  Weight-for-age | −0.34 (1.14) | − 0.35 (1.13) | − 0.34 (1.15) | 0.92 |
  Length-for-age | −1.12 (1.37) | − 1.04 (1.46) | −1.16 (1.32) | 0.37 |
  Weight-for-length | 0.96 (1.75) | 0.87 (1.86) | 1.01 (1.69) | 0.43 |
 Z-scores at 6 months, mean (SD) | ||||
  Weight-for-age | −0.10 (1.24) | − 0.16 (1.19) | − 0.07 (1.27) | 0.48 |
  Length-for-age | −1.12 (1.53) | −1.26 (1.41) | − 1.04 (1.58) | 0.17 |
  Weight-for-length | 0.92 (1.44) | 0.94 (1.39) | 0.90 (1.48) | 0.78 |
 Child feeding practice at 6/10 weeks | ||||
  Exclusive breast feeding | 273 (69) | 97 (70) | 176 (68) | 0.93 |
  Formula feeding only | 98 (25) | 34 (24) | 64 (25) |  |
  Mixed breastfeeding and other | 24 (6) | 8 (6) | 16 (7) |  |
 Child feeding practice at 6 months | ||||
  Exclusive breast feeding | 125 (32) | 42 (30) | 83 (32) | 0.10 |
  Formula feeding only | 246 (62) | 93 (67) | 153 (60) |  |
  Mixed breastfeeding and other | 24 (6) | 4 (3) | 20 (8) |  |