Socioeconomic Inequalities in Prevalence and Treatment of Tuberculosis in India, 2015-21

Shamrin Akhtar, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)
Amit Goyal, International Institute For Population Sciences
Sanjay K Mohanty, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)

Background: India accounts for one-fourth of cases of Tuberculosis worldwide, and it remains a major public health challenge in India. There are limited population-based studies that examine the socioeconomic inequality in the prevalence and treatment of tuberculosis in India. This study examines the socioeconomic inequality in the prevalence and treatment of tuberculosis during the last decade. Data and methods: Our study sample included 2,869,043 individuals from NFHS-4 and 2,843,917 from NFHS-5. The Erreygers Normalised Concentration Index (ECI) estimated wealth inequality in tuberculosis prevalence and treatment, two logistic regression models employed to identify significant predictors. Results: The prevalence of tuberculosis is pro-poor in both periods. Still, the inequality decreased over time (ECI: -0.07197 vs. -0.00447), and tuberculosis treatment was also pro-poor among the lower economic groups, with a slight increase in inequality over time (ECI: -0.01588 vs. -0.01699). Apart from wealth, age, household size, social classes, religion, and smoking behavior of individuals are significant predictors in both rounds of NFHS. Conclusion: The prevalence of tuberculosis has been declining in the last six years across socioeconomic groups in India. However, the burden of tuberculosis remains relatively higher among the poor class of society. Keywords: Tuberculosis; prevalence; treatment; socioeconomic; India

Keywords: Health and Morbidity, Inequality, Disadvantage and Discrimination

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