title: Gender disparities in latent tuberculosis infection in high-risk individuals: a cross-sectional study.
abstract: Male predominance in active tuberculosis (TB) is widely-reported globally. Gender inequalities in socio-cultural status are frequently regarded as contributing factors for disparities in sex in active TB. The disparities of sex in the prevalence of latent TB infection (LTBI) are less frequently investigated and deserve clarification. In this cross-sectional study conducted in a TB endemic area, we enrolled patients at high-risk for LTBI and progression from LTBI to active TB from 2011 to 2012. Diagnosis of LTBI was made by QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube (QFT-GIT). Differences in sex in terms of prevalence of LTBI and clinical predictors for LTBI were investigated. Associations among age, smoking status, and sex disparities in LTBI were also analyzed. A total of 1018 high-risk individuals with definite QFT-GIT results were included for analysis, including 534 males and 484 females. The proportion of LTBI was significantly higher in males than in females (32.6% vs. 25.2%, p = 0.010). Differences in the proportion of LTBI between sexes were most prominent in older patients (age ≥ 55 years). In multivariate analysis, independent clinical factors associated with LTBI were age (p = 0.014), smoking (p = 0.048), and fibro-calcified lesions on chest radiogram (p = 0.009). Male sex was not an independent factor for LTBI (p = 0.88). When stratifying patients according to the smoking status, the proportion of LTBI remained comparable between sexes among smokers and non-smokers. In conclusion, although the proportion of LTBI is higher in men, there is no significant disparity in terms of sex in LTBI among high-risk individuals after adjusting for age, smoking status, and other clinical factors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chest Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.
authors.forename: Wen-Ying
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Ting
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Internal Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.; School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.
authors.forename: Shiang-Fen
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Chest Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.
authors.forename: Ming-Che
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Institute of Clinical Medicine and Institute of Brain Science, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.; Laboratory of Neurophysiology and Department of Neurology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.
authors.forename: Yung-Yang
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Chest Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.; School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.
authors.forename: Yu-Chin
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Chest Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.; Institute of Clinical Medicine, School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.
authors.forename: Jia-Yih
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: Department of Chest Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.; School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.
authors.forename: Wei-Juin
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Su
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001500:BCG Vaccine / Q000276:immunology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D055985:Latent Tuberculosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D015995:Prevalence; D012306:Risk; D012737:Sex Factors; D012907:Smoking
chemical_list: D001500:BCG Vaccine