Question
What does my CD4 percentage mean?
7 January 2017. Related: All topics, CD4 and viral load.
Answer
Most information about how HIV affects your health comes from your CD4 count. This includes how HIV has damaged your immune system and how HIV treatment (ART) is making your immune system stronger.
The CD4 count is usually given as a number (usually between 1 to about 1600 cells/mm3).
This number is called the ‘absolute’ CD4 count.
However, many things affect this absolute number. These includes the time of the day, what you have eaten, if you have taken exercise, or if you have other infections. Each of these factors can affect your CD4 count but they are not related to immune system.
If your CD4 results are ever much higher or much lower than you expect, your doctor should look at your CD4 percentage (CD4%).
The CD4% can indicate whether this is a real change, or just a fluctuation. The CD4% is generally more stable.
The absolute CD4 count is still best at predicting risk of HIV progression.
The CD4% is the percentage of white blood cells that are CD4 cells. In an HIV negative adult the average CD4% is about 45%.(But this can range from 24% – 64%)
In adults, a CD4 percentage of 12-15% is considered similar to a CD4 count of 200 cells/mm3. A percentage of 15-20% is similar to an absolute count of 300 cells/mm3.
Babies and children with HIV are monitored using CD4%, because their absolute CD4 counts are much higher than adult counts, especially in the first few years.
CD4% may be an independent predictor of HIV disease progression, and a low CD4% should be considered as a factor in starting treatment, even when the absolute CD4 count is relatively ok.
This answer was updated in January 2017 from a question first posted on 8 October 2012.
Hi Maggie,
How are you coping with your diagnoses? Are you and your partner able to get any support? I know that its a shock, its important though to take some time.
A cd4 of 280 isn’t bad, but its not great. Therefore its good to hear that you’re just about to start treatment. It’s being on treatment that will help your CD4 to rise. It will also help your HIV.
With regards to your partner. Its a shock for most people when they find out. If possible its important to support each other. And to learn as much as you can about HIV. For instance, with treatment people who are positive should have a normal life expectancy. Also people who are positive have kids. Basically its now a very manageable and treatable illness. Has your partner been advised to also start meds?
The following are links that may help. Our starting treatment guide and also info for people who are newly diagnosed.
http://i-base.info/guides/starting
http://i-base.info/just-found-out/
good day, I’m just concerned that I have been diagnosed as HIV positive, recently and my CD4 count is 280… about to start treatment. is that count good or bad.
I have a partner and unintentionally I have infected her, she was devastated. her count is just over a 1000.
please advice me.
Hi Nompilo, are you HIV positive? If yes, then treatment is very effective. You can still be with your boyfriend.
Hi
I recently got my lab results
CD4% is 14.98
CD4 is 371
What does it mean? I dont want to loose my boyfriend.
Please help.
Hi Marc, anyone giving you HIV test results needs to explain the results to you. Please see this link for an explanation about the number that is sometimes given:
http://i-base.info/qa/factsheets/hiv-transmission-and-testing
hello
my microbiologist says that my hiv 1 and hiv 2 blood result is ( >0.14 ) please i m scared what does it mean ,
Hi Vivek. Thanks for your comment. Have you talked to your doctor about treatment? Is treatment available for you? Although your CD4 count is good, HIV meds are recommended for everyone who is positive, especially if the CD4 count is close to 350. Also, your CD4% shows it is a good time to start HIV meds, which are now both effective and usually easy to take. Please let eme know what your doctor says if it would help to talk more.
Hi I don’t take medicine, my recent cd4 366 & cd4% 9.1% . how I do ? Plz help me.
Your CD4% and your CD4 count tell you how strong your immune system is. The average normal CD4% for HIV negative adults is about 40%.
However, as with CD4 counts and other tests, the range for a “normal” result in an HIV negative person is also wide – it’s from about 25% to 65%. The “normal” range for absolute CD4 count is from about 400 to 1600. Both your tests are within this normal range.
But your CD4 count isn’t a test to show whether you can transmit HIV. This is what your viral load test is all about. Once your viral load is undetectable (that is below 50 copies) it dramatically reduces risk of transmission. Once undetectable the risk of transmission is effectively zero.
Last week I got my lab results and my CD4% is 29.73% (28.00-51.00) and absolute CD4 is 516 cells/uL (332-1642) I was then started on ARVs but would you rather make me understand why because my partner is negative.