title: Influence of socio-economic inequality measured by the Gini coefficient on meningitis incidence caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Haemophilus influenzae in Colombia, 2008-2011.
abstract: Bacterial meningitis is an important cause of infectious neurological morbidity and mortality. Its incidence has decreased with the introduction of vaccination programmes against preventable agents. However, low-income and middle-income countries with poor access to health care still have a significant burden of the disease. Thus, the relationship between the Gini coefficient and H. influenzae and M. tuberculosis meningitis incidence in Colombia, during 2008-2011, was assessed. In this ecological study, the Gini coefficient was obtained from the Colombian Department of Statistics, incidence rates were calculated (cases/1,000,000 pop) and linear regressions were performed using the Gini coefficient, to assess the relationship between the latter and the incidence of meningitis. It was observed that when inequality increases in the Colombian departments, the incidence of meningitis also increases, with a significant association in the models (p<0.01) for both M. tuberculosis (r²=0.2382; p<0.001) and H. influenzae (r²=0.2509; p<0.001). This research suggests that high Gini coefficient values influence the incidence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Haemophilus influenzae meningitis, showing that social inequality is critical to disease occurrence. Early detection, supervised treatment, vaccination coverage, access to health care are efficient control strategies.
authors.affiliation: Public Health and Infection Research Group, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira (UTP), Pereira, Risaralda, Colombia.
authors.forename: Wilmer F
authors.initials: WF
authors.lastname: Acevedo-Mendoza
authors.affiliation: Public Health and Infection Research Group, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira (UTP), Pereira, Risaralda, Colombia.
authors.forename: Diana Paola
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Buitrago Gómez
authors.affiliation: Public Health and Infection Research Group, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira (UTP), Pereira, Risaralda, Colombia.
authors.forename: Miguel Ángel
authors.initials: MÁ
authors.lastname: Atehortua-Otero
authors.affiliation: Public Health and Infection Research Group, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira (UTP), Pereira, Risaralda, Colombia.
authors.forename: Miguel Ángel
authors.initials: MÁ
authors.lastname: Páez
authors.affiliation: Public Health and Infection Research Group, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira (UTP), Pereira, Risaralda, Colombia.
authors.forename: Manuela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jiménez-Rincón
authors.affiliation: Public Health and Infection Research Group, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira (UTP), Pereira, Risaralda, Colombia.
authors.forename: Guillermo J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Lagos-Grisales
authors.affiliation: Public Health and Infection Research Group, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira (UTP), Pereira, Risaralda, Colombia; Organización Latinoamericana para el Fomento de la Investigación en Salud (OLFIS), Riohacha, La Guajira, Colombia.
authors.forename: Alfonso J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Morales
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D003105:Colombia / Q000453:epidemiology; D003906:Developing Countries; D006193:Haemophilus influenzae / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D054625:Healthcare Disparities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted; D015994:Incidence; D008583:Meningitis, Haemophilus / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D015233:Models, Statistical; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D011203:Poverty; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014390:Tuberculosis, Meningeal / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology