[Factors associated with pulmonary TB treatment dropout in Maranhão State, Brazil, from 2001 to 2010]

Abstract

This study aimed to analyze the treatment dropout rate for pulmonary tuberculosis and associated factors in Maranhão State, Brazil, from 2001 to 2010. A cross-sectional study used data from the Information System on Notifiable Diseases (SINAN), including 2,850 new smear test-positive cases that were closed due to either medical discharge following cure or treatment dropout. The study variables were age, gender, skin color, years of schooling, HIV status, alcoholism, diabetes, mental illness, and other diseases. Logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with treatment dropout, which included age 20-39 years (OR=1.51; 95%CI: 1.15-1.97; p=0.002), schooling 1-8 years (OR=2.05; 95%CI: 1.43-2.95; p<0.001), illiteracy (OR=1.64; 95%CI: 1.02-2.65; p=0.041), alcoholism (OR=2.53; 95%CI: 1.75-3.67; p<0.001), and mental illness. The treatment dropout rate in the State was high (9.1%), and the main contributing factors were low schooling, alcoholism, and mental illness.