IL7 and infection: Women presented a longer duration of infection and higher CD4 counts, aligning with previous research, indicating that women often have better immunological control of the infection, likely due to earlier care entry and the higher CD4 counts at the enter care (Biber et al. 1999), and biological factors such as oestrogen receptor signaling (Griesbeck et al. 2016) and higher circulating interleukin-7 levels, which play a crucial role in T-cell production and homeostasis (Napolitano et al. 2005).