Statistical analyses
SECONDARY, EVENT
Sample size was not determined in advance and a convenience sampling was conducted. All data were anonymized and analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) 24 software.Descriptive statistics were presented for the primary and secondary outcomes, with median and interquartile ranges (IQRs) or frequencies and proportions (%), as appropriate. Comparisons between “retained” and “not retained” individuals were performed to identify baseline clinical and sociodemographic factors associated with loss of follow-up at week 48, using Chi-square/Fisher’s exact test for categorical variables, and Mann-Whitney’s U test for continuous variables when normality was not confirmed. Longitudinal differences between baseline and week 48 were assessed for CD4 count and weight, using Wilcoxon rank-sum test, as these variables showed non-normal distributions. A survival analysis of retained participants was performed with R (survival package). Time to event was calculated by Kaplan-Meier method. For all the analyses, a 