Normal CD4 Count Range among Healthy Nigerian Population in Ilorin

Abstract

Background: For the establishment and monitoring of the immune status, CD4 count is critical. Objectives: To determine the CD4 count range of apparently healthy Nigerians resident in Ilorin and compare with the national value. Methods: An automated blood analyzer was used to determine the full blood count and CD4 count. The percentage of CD4 count was derived by using other variables. Results: Of the 1205 participants, the reference CD4 count (percentage of CD4) range for adult was 400 to 1288 cells/mm3 (19%-48%) and for children was 582 to 3652 cells/mm3 (17%-50%). CD4 count and percentage of CD4 were significantly (P ¼ .001) higher in females than in males, and the CD4 count declined significantly with increasing age (r ¼ .174, P .0001). The percentage of CD4 count shows less variation with age (r ¼ .051, P ¼ .076). Adult residents of Ilorin had significantly lower absolute mean CD4 count (808 + 260) than that of the national reference values of 847.0 + 307.0 cells/mm3 (P ¼ .001). Conclusion: We therefore advocate the use of CD4 count range derived in this study is lower than that of the national reference values.