Thimmanahalli Sobagaiah Ranganath, Kumari Nitu, Bharathi Gattam Divya, Khazi Mohammed Shoyaib
Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute, Bengaluru, India.
World College of Medical Sciences and Research, Jhajjar, India.
Commun Med (Lond). 2024 Aug 23;4(1):168. doi: 10.1038/s43856-024-00592-x.
Tuberculosis remains a major challenge in India, with an estimated 2.69 million cases each year. Although men are more affected than women, gender differences and related factors affect awareness of tuberculosis and thus impact tuberculosis diagnosis and access to treatment. Understanding the gender-specific needs and complexities when diagnosing and treating tuberculosis is essential to manage cases in India.
We undertook a comparative study using data from three National Family and Health Surveys (NFHS), specifically NFHS-3, NFHS-4 and NFHS-5. We investigated the prevalence and gender disparity in awareness about tuberculosis, and associated factors, using regression analysis.
Most men and women surveyed are between the ages of 15 and 19. Across the surveys, the proportion of men and women who are unaware of spreading of tuberculosis decreases from 44.9% during NFHS 3 to 29.6% during NFHS 5. However, the prevalence ratio of men to women with no knowledge about modes of transmission of Tuberculosis increases from 0.92 during NFHS 3 to 0.98 during NFHS 5. Higher odds with younger age (NFHS 5, aOR: 1.07 (1.01-1.13)) and rural residency (NFHS 5, aOR: 1.12 (1.06-1.18)), and lower odds with unmarried marital status (NFHS 5, aOR: 0.92 (0.86-0.98)) are noteworthy associations. Women and men have differences in knowledge.
Gender disparity associated with awareness about tuberculosis in India is observed across all three nationwide surveys. Being aged fifteen to nineteen years and residing in rural area are risk factors. Being unmarried is a protective factor for women, but not for men.
结核病在印度仍然是一项重大挑战，每年估计有269万例病例。尽管男性比女性受影响更大，但性别差异及相关因素会影响对结核病的认知，进而影响结核病的诊断和治疗机会。了解诊断和治疗结核病时的性别特定需求和复杂性对于管理印度的病例至关重要。
我们利用三次全国家庭健康调查（NFHS）的数据进行了一项比较研究，具体为NFHS-3、NFHS-4和NFHS-5。我们使用回归分析调查了结核病认知的患病率、性别差异及相关因素。
接受调查的大多数男性和女性年龄在15至19岁之间。在所有调查中，不知道结核病传播途径的男性和女性比例从NFHS 3期间的44.9%降至NFHS 5期间的29.6%。然而，对结核病传播方式一无所知的男性与女性的患病率比值从NFHS 3期间的0.92增至NFHS 5期间的0.98。年龄较小（NFHS 5，调整后比值比：1.07（1.01-1.13））和居住在农村地区（NFHS 5，调整后比值比：1.12（1.06-1.18））的几率较高，而未婚婚姻状况的几率较低（NFHS 5，调整后比值比：0.92（0.86-0.98））是值得注意的关联。男性和女性在知识方面存在差异。
在所有三项全国性调查中均观察到印度与结核病认知相关的性别差异。年龄在15至19岁之间且居住在农村地区是危险因素。未婚对女性是保护因素，但对男性不是。
