Risk Factors of Pulmonary Tuberculosis in Aseer Region, Saudi Arabia: A Case-Control Study

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) constitutes one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Due to adopted prevention measures, good public health practices, and better treatment, its incidence, prevalence, and case fatality rates steadily fell. Objectives and Methods: Following a case-control research design, this study aimed to explore the risk factors of pulmonary TB among patients registered in the Aseer Region, Saudi Arabia. This study included 105 active TB cases (study group) and 143 (control group) who were randomly recruited from those attending the vaccination units at Primary Healthcare Centers in Aseer. Results: Participants differed significantly according to their nationality (with 65.7% being Saudi in the TB group compared with 89.5% Saudi nationals in the control, p p p p p p = 0.007), and type of houses, with 84.8% of TB patients living in apartments, compared to 68.5% of the control ( p p p = 0.007, and p Conclusions: Personal characteristics of pulmonary TB patients include being non-Saudi, less educated, not married, unemployed, with a low monthly income, and being underweight. Risk factors related to place included residing in rural areas and living in the basement of a rented apartment.