Impact of socio-economic inequities on tuberculosis in a Southern European city: what is the effect of the recession?

Introduction Economic crises affect a population's health, particularly among the most deprived. The increase in health inequalities in the latest recession may have influenced the incidence of tuberculosis (TB). We analysed the effect of socio-economic inequities and recession on TB incidence in Barcelona, Spain. Methods We conducted a population-based incidence study of TB cases in Barcelona of patients who started treatment between 2003 and 2015. A multilevel interrupted time-series analysis was performed to analyse differences in incidence trends between the pre-recession (until 2008) and recession periods. Results We found differences in TB incidence according to deprivation and immigration status. TB incidence among the most deprived neighbourhoods was 2.72 times higher than the least deprived neighbourhoods. Compared with native-born persons, incidence was nine times higher among those born in Africa, and six times higher among those born in Asia and Oceania. The previous decreasing trend in incidence (4%) was accentuated during the recession (7%). Conclusions TB incidence decreased during the recession, probably due to a reduction in the number of new immigrants and the TB programme. However, incidence was highly unequal between districts with different levels of deprivation, and between foreign-born persons from different geographic regions. Social measures are important to reduce inequalities and TB incidence in Barcelona.