Tuberculosis and poverty.
OBJECTIVE
To examine whether the historical link between tuberculosis and poverty still exists.


METHODS
Retrospective study examining the notifications of all forms of tuberculosis by council ward over a six year period and correlating this with four indices of poverty; council housing, free school meals, the Townsend overall deprivation index, and the Jarman index.


METHODS
The 33 electoral wards of the city of Liverpool.


METHODS
344 residents of Liverpool with tuberculosis.


RESULTS
The rate of tuberculosis was correlated with all measures of poverty, the strongest correlation being with the Jarman index (r = 0.73, p < 0.0001). This link was independent of the high rates of tuberculosis seen in ethnic minorities.


CONCLUSIONS
Tuberculosis remains strongly associated with poverty.
Spence
D P
DP
Aintree Chest Centre, Fazakerley Hospital, Liverpool.
Hotchkiss
J
J
Williams
C S
CS
Davies
P D
PD
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004739:England / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011203:Poverty; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology