Identification of risk factors for extrapulmonary tuberculosis

The proportion of extrapulmonary tuberculosis cases in the United States has increased from 16% of tuberculosis cases, in 1991, to 20%, in 2001. To determine associations between the demographic, clinical, and life style characteristics of patients with tuberculosis and the occurrence of extrapulmonary tuberculosis, a retrospective case-control study was conducted. This study included 705 patients with tuberculosis, representing 98% of the culture-proven cases of tuberculosis in Arkansas from 1 January 1996 through 31 December 2000. A comparison between 85 patients with extrapulmonary tuberculosis ( case patients) and 620 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis ( control patients) showed women ( OR, 1.98; 95% CI, 1.25 - 3.13), non-Hispanic blacks (OR, 2.38; 95% CI, 1.42 - 3.97), and HIV-positive persons (OR, 4.93; 95% CI, 1.95 - 12.46) to have a significantly higher risk for extrapulmonary tuberculosis than men, non-Hispanic whites, and HIV-negative persons. This study expands the knowledge base regarding the epidemiology of extrapulmonary tuberculosis and enhances our understanding of the relative contribution of host-related factors to the pathogenesis of tuberculosis.