Impact of Sociodemographic Profile on Tuberculosis Treatment Outcome in Rural Area of West Bengal – A Longitudinal Study

Abstract Introduction: Tuberculosis (TB) is a major public health problem, especially in developing countries like India, contributing aproximately25% to 28% of the global TB burden. Despite freely available treatment, different factors, including sociodemographic factors, influence the outcome of TB treatment. Objectives: The objectives of this study were to find out the association of sociodemographic profile and TB treatment outcome of the newly diagnosed TB patients. Methodology: A longitudinal descriptive study was conducted at Tehatta, rural block, in West Bengal, from September 2021 to December 2022 among 95 newly diagnosed adult TB cases with the help of a predesigned, pretested, semi-structured schedule. Study subjects were approached three times: intensive phase, mid-continuation phase, and at the end of treatment. Data analysis was done using IBM SPSS-19 version. Results: It was found that 49.5% were younger age group (18–39 years), 71.6% were male, 87.4% were married person, 75.8% belonged to joint family, 50% were from lower socioeconomical class, 71.6% were secondary and above educational status, 42.1% were agricultural workers, 42.1% were smoker and 17.9% were alcoholics, 70.5% study subjects having pulmonary TB and unsuccessful TB treatment outcome were 12.7%. TB treatment outcome significantly associated with age (χ 2 = 8.71, P = 0.003), gender (χ 2 = 6.040, P = 0.013), socioeconomic scales, Modified BG Prasad Scale for 2022 (χ 2 = 4.451, P = 0.034), education of TB patients (χ 2 = 6.04, P = 0.0139), smoking habits (χ 2 = 6.096, P = 0.013), alcohol consumption (χ2 = 15.28, P = 0.0001), and marital status (χ 2 = 10.492, P = 0.001). In bivariate logistic regression, it was seen that nonalcoholic subjects had 10.53 times more successful treatment outcome (adjusted odds ratio: 10.53, 95% confidence interval: 1.25–16.42) than alcoholic study subjects. Conclusion: Sociodemographic profiles such as age, gender, socioeconomical scale, education, smoking habits, and alcohol consumption have a significant role in TB treatment outcome.