Socio-Demographic Characteristics of Patients That Received Tuberculosis Care at a Tertiary Health Facility in Nigeria: A Retrospective Study

Background: Tuberculosis is one of the top 10 causes of death worldwide and the leading cause of death from a single infectious agent. The World Health Organization estimates that about a third of the world’s population is infected with mycobacterium tuberculosis and that about 16-20 million are suffering from the disease. The study aimed to determine the socio-demographic characteristics of patients treated for Tuberculosis at a tertiary health facility in Nigeria and to find the differences in socio-demographic characteristics based on their place of residence. Methods: The study was a 5-year retrospective cohort study (2018-2022) of all Tuberculosis cases treated at the chest and TB clinic of Enugu State University Teaching Hospital Park Lane Enugu, Nigeria. All the patients that received TB treatment within the 5 year period were included for the study. Results: The mean age was 38.91±17.39. Most of the cases were in the 30-39 year age group (24.8%). About 2/3 of them were males (61.9%) and urban dwellers (65.0%). Most had secondary education (46.2%) and traders (27.5%). About half of them were married (51.6%) while almost all were Igbos (95.4%). Educational level (p<0.001), occupation (p<0.001) and ethnicity (p=0.021) were significantly associated with place of residence. Conclusion: We conclude that Tuberculosis is a disease of young adults and common among males than females. Place of residence, educational level, occupation and ethnicity were important factors in the prevalence of tuberculosis. Efforts should be focused on these identified socio-demographic characteristics for effective control of tuberculosis. Key words: Tuberculosis, Nigeria, Socio-demographic characteristics, Tertiary health facility, Enugu State