Among patients who died in the first year, there was no significant difference in CD4 count at ART initiation between CCASAnet and NA-ACCORD (50 vs. 36 cells/μL, p=0.35), though CCASAnet patients were younger (37 vs. 42 years, p=0.02) and less likely to have an AIDS diagnosis before ART initiation (44% vs. 58%, p=0.04; Supplementary Table 1). This evidence concerns the gene CD4 and AIDS.