Social determinants of the changing tuberculosis prevalence in Viet Nam: Analysis of population-level cross -sectional

Abstract

Background An ecological relationship between economic development and reduction in tuberculosis prevalence has been observed. Between 2007 and 2017, Vie t Nam experienced rapid economic development with equitable distribution of resources and a 37% reduction in tuberculosis prevalence. Analysing consecutive prevalence surveys, we examined how the reduction in tuberculosis (and subclinical tuberculosis) prevalence was concentrated between socioeconomic groups. Methods and findings We combined data from 2 nationally representative Vie t Nam tuberculosis prevalence surveys with provincialAU -level: IntheMethods measures of ; thepaperdefines poverty. Data from 4distinct 94,156 ; nestedlevelsofpopulation (2007) and 61,763 (2017): province individuals were included. Of people with microbiologically confirmed tuberculosis, 21.6% (47/218) in 2007 and 29.0% (36/124) in 2017 had subclinical disease. We constructed an asset index using principal component analysis of consumption data. An illness concentration index was estimated to measure socioeconomic position inequality in tuberculosis prevalence. The illness concentration index changed from −0.10 (95% CI −0.08, −0.16; p = 0.003) in 2007 to 0.07 (95% CI 0.06, 0.18; p = 0.158) in 2017, indicating that tuberculosis was concentrated among the poorest households in 2007, with a shift towards more equal distribution between rich and poor households in 2017. This finding was similar for subclinical tuberculosis. We fitted multilevel models to investigate relationships between change in tuberculosis prevalence, individual risks, household socioeconomic position, and neighbourhood poverty. Controlling for provincial poverty level reduced the difference in prevalence, suggesting that changes in neighbourhood poverty contribute to the explanation of change in tuberculosis prevalence . A limitation of our study is that while tuberculosis:Irecomme prevalence surveys are valuable for understanding socioeconomic differences in tuberculosis prevalence in countries, given that tuberculosis is a relatively rare disease in the population studied, there is limited power to explore socioeconomic drivers. However, combining repeated cross-sectional surveys with provincial deprivation estimates during a period of remarkable economic growth provides valuable insights into the dynamics of the relationship between tuberculosis and economic development in Vie t Nam. Conclusions We found that with equitable economic growth and a reduction in tuberculosis burden, tuberculosis became less concentrated among the poor in Vie t Nam.