Tuberculosis and socioeconomic factors in spanish population: a systematic review.

Abstract

BACKGROUND // There are different socioeconomic variables which determine tuberculosis’s epidemiology, diagnosis and treatment. The objective of this paper was to analize these effects in the last years in Spain.

METHODS // A systematic review was conducted. Screened studies were original articles written in English or Spanish and published between 2007 and 2020. Searching was performed in Pubmed and Web of Science databases. STROBE criteria were followed to analyze studies’s quality, and studies included in the review had 15 points or more.

RESULTS // 23 articles were selected, and were classified in different topics. Foreigners’s proportion with tuberculosis changed in different autonomous communities between 10%-50%. There were diagnostic delay for this group compared to natives. This group had higher incidence of resistance to isoniazid, but without a clear increase in multidrug resistance. There were less adherence to tuberculosis’s treatment in case of immigration, drug addiction, HIV coinfection, or lack of family support. Under-reporting of tuberculosis cases varied between 18%-28%, and it was higher in cases of social marginality, HIV coinfection, Spanish nationality or male sex. There were also other social risk groups in which the diagnostic approach to tuberculosis was relevant, such as in schools and health centers. Tuberculosis was one of the most frequent HIV associated diseases, although screening tests were not performed in almost 18%, depending on the concurrence of social risk factors.

CONCLUSIONS // Tuberculosis’s incidence, diagnosis, and treatment are influenced by a lot of social and economic factors, which determine the approach to this disease.