Male initiators were older than female initiators (median: 34 years, interquartile range [IQR]: 27–42 vs. 31 years, IQR: 25–38; p < 0.001) and were more likely to have to have advanced HIV infection at initiation: 4,876/6,961 (69.9%) of male initiators were in stage 3 or 4 compared to 5,724/8,988 (63.7%) of female initiators (p < 0.001); and a greater proportion of male initiators (533/3,321, 16.1%) had a CD4 count of <50 cells/μl at initiation compared to female initiators (528/4,427, 11.9%). Here, CD4 is linked to HIV infectious disease.