Prevalence of tuberculosis risk factors among bacteriologically negative and bacteriologically confirmed tuberculosis patients from five regional referral hospitals in Uganda

Winters Muttamba, Bruce Kirenga, Willy Ssengooba, Rogers Sekibira, Achilles Katamba, Moses L Joloba

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Understanding risk factors for tuberculosis (TB) and their prevalence helps guide early diagnosis. We determined their prevalence among bacteriologically negative and bacteriologically confirmed TB patients in five regional referral hospitals in Uganda. This cross-sectional study considered 1,862 adult presumptive TB participants. We performed fluorescent microscopy, Xpert MTB/RIF (Xpert), Lowenstein-Jensen culture, human immunodeficiency virus, and random blood sugar testing on recruited patients. Prevalence and prevalence ratios of risk factors were compared among bacteriologically negative and confirmed cases. Odds ratios and 95% confidence interval (CI) were determined for significant risk factors in bacteriologically confirmed patients. Of the 1,862 participants, 978 (55%) were male and the median age of the participants was 36 years (interquartile range: 27-48). Up to 273 (15%) had a positive result on all three TB tests. Most prevalent risk factors (prevalence ratio [PR] > 1.0) among bacteriologically negative and positive TB patients were cigarette smoking (9.3% versus 2.1%; PR = 2.1), biosmoke (24% versus 39.7%; PR = 1.7), contact (4.2% versus 6.5%; PR = 1.6), male gender (51.4% versus 72.5%; PR = 1.4), alcohol use (17.2% versus 24.4%; PR = 1.4), diabetes (0.7% versus 0.9%; PR = 1.3), and family history of TB (12.1% versus 13.7%; PR = 1.1). The risk factors and their adjusted prevalence rate ratios (95% CI) of being bacteriologically positive were male (1.8 [1.4-2.4]), biosmoke exposure (1.5 [1.2-2.0]), and history of cigarette smoking (1.6 [1.1-2.4]). Among bacteriologically confirmed patients in Uganda, cigarette smoking, biosmoke exposure, contact, male gender, alcohol use, diabetes, and family history of TB are important risk factors for TB. Interventions for TB control in people with these risk factors would help in TB control efforts.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)386-391
Number of pages6
JournalAmerican Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Volume100
Issue number2
Early online date26 Dec 2018
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Feb 2019

Keywords

  • Adult
  • Alcohol Drinking/physiopathology
  • Blood Glucose/metabolism
  • Cigarette Smoking/physiopathology
  • Coinfection
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Diabetes Mellitus/physiopathology
  • Female
  • HIV/growth & development
  • HIV Infections/blood
  • Hospitals
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Medical History Taking/statistics & numerical data
  • Middle Aged
  • Mycobacterium tuberculosis/pathogenicity
  • Prevalence
  • Risk Factors
  • Sex Factors
  • Smoke Inhalation Injury/physiopathology
  • Sputum/microbiology
  • Tuberculosis, Pulmonary/blood
  • Uganda/epidemiology

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