Effects of HIV-1 genotype on baseline CD4+ cell count and mortality before and after antiretroviral therapy

To assess whether human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) genotype influences baseline CD4+ T lymphocyte (CD4+) cell count and mortality of patients. The study was conducted from 2014 to 2019 in Guangxi, China, and included 2845 newly diagnosed HIV patients. We used a median regression model to compare CD4+ cell counts in patients newly diagnosed with different HIV-1 genotypes, and a Cox regression model to analyze the associations between HIV-1 genotypes and mortality before and after antiretroviral treatment (ART). In newly diagnosed HIV patients, the baseline CD4+ cell counts of patients with CRF01_AE were significantly lower than those of patients with CRF07_BC, CRF08_BC, and other genotypes. Compared with CRF01_AE, patients infected with CRF07_BC (hazard ratio, 0.55; 95% CI 0.36-0.85), CRF08_BC (hazard ratio, 0.67; 95% CI 0.52-0.85), or other genotypes (hazard ratio, 0.52; 95% CI 0.29-0.94) had significantly lower mortality rates before ART. There were no significant associations between different HIV-1 genotypes and mortality after ART. HIV-1 genotype significantly influences baseline CD4+ cell count and mortality before ART in newly diagnosed HIV patients. We find no significant difference in the outcome of death after ART in patients with different HIV-1 genotypes.