The effects of HIV-1 subtype and ethnicity on the rate of CD4 cell count decline in patients naive to antiretroviral therapy: a Canadian-European collaborative retrospective cohort study

Abstract

Ethnicity is a major determinant of CD4 cell count decline; viral subtype differences may have existed but were small compared with the effect of ethnicity and were most apparent in patients of African ancestry. In developing countries, slower CD4 cell count declines among individuals of African descent may translate to a longer asymptomatic phase and increase the opportunity for HIV transmission.