Clinical Study

Combination Antiretroviral Therapy for HIV in Rwandan Adults: Clinical Outcomes and Impact on Reproductive Health up to 24 Months

Table 1

Baseline sociodemographic, sexual, and reproductive characteristics.

CharacteristicWomen pre-cART 
1
Women on cART 
1
Men on cART 
1

Age in years (median, IQR)230 (26–38)37 (31–43)37 (33–44)
Highest level of education in years (%)
 No schooling11.78.18.3
 Some primary/secondary80.273.972.9
 Secondary completed/postsecondary8.118.018.8
Marital status (%)
 Married58.146.968.5
 Divorced16.713.310.9
 Widowed19.227.47.6
 Never married6.012.413.0
Number of years when HIV-positive (median, IQR)2 (0–5)2 (0–5)1 (0–3)
Spouse HIV-positive (among married, %)77.277.177.2
How do you think you got HIV-infected? (%)3
 Sexual contact with spouse64.163.721.2
 Sexual contact with other steady partners7.18.832.3
 Sexual contact with casual/paying partner17.717.742.4
 Other63.510.69.1
 Unknown7.65.31.0
Number of people to whom the participant disclosed his/her HIV status2.5 (1–4)3 (2–5)2 (1–5)
Age at first sex (median, IQR)18 (17–20)19 (17–22)20 (18–21)
Currently sexually active (%)264.050.966.7
Lifetime number of sex partners (median, IQR)32 (1–3)2 (1–3)6 (4–11)
Ever had sex against your will (%)47.453.2Not asked
Self-identifies as sex worker (%)3.00NA
Regular alcohol use (%)3,529.325.271.1
Husband circumcised (%)34.234.625.7
Lifetime number of pregnancies (median, IQR)3 (2–4)3 (2–4)NA
Any pregnancy unintended (% of women)37.846.1NA
Any births ending in abortion, miscarriage, or stillbirth (% of women)9.49.2NA
Currently using family planning (%)265.548.6NA
 Condoms448.870.6
 Injectables27.67.8
 Combined oral contraceptive pills8.72.0
 Hormonal implants8.75.9
 Copper IUD0.83.9
 Female sterilization3.93.9
 Periodic abstinence/coitus interruptus/other8.013.7
Currently breastfeeding (%)9.30NA
At least one pregnancy since HIV diagnosis (%)27.616.7NA
Any of these pregnancies unintended (women reporting a pregnancy since HIV diagnosis, %)36.021.6NA
Ever used PMTCT (women reporting a pregnancy since HIV diagnosis, %)242.920.6NA
At least one HIV-positive child (among those reporting children, %)14.910.8Not asked

At most 5, 4, and 8 missing values per group, except for the number of pregnancies since HIV diagnosis ( and 90, resp.).
2Difference between women pre-cART and women on cART is statistically significant at (also shown in bold). At the time of the study, PMTCT option A was being implemented in Rwanda.
3Difference between women and men is statistically significant at (also shown in bold).
4Among women who reported to use family planning. Women could report more than one method (e.g., hormonal contraception and condoms). No one reported use of diaphragms, male sterilization, or traditional methods.
5Regular alcohol use is defined as at least 3 days every week in the last 6 months.
6“Other” includes from mother, rape, and other (unspecified). A total of 10 women reported rape during the 1994 genocide.