Background: The impact of HIV-1 subtype (CRF01_AE and non-CRF01_AE) on HIV-1 DNA levels in HIV-1 chronically infected patients with suppressive antiretroviral therapy (ART) remains poorly understood. To evaluate the correlation of HIV-1 subtype with DNA level, and identify baseline predictors of HIV-1 DNA decay.
Methods: ART-naïve HIV-1-infected patients from two large multi-center studies in China were classified into CRF01_AE and non-CRF01_AE subtype groups.