Volume 15, Number 6—June 2009
Research
Tuberculosis Disparity between US-born Blacks and Whites, Houston, Texas, USA1
Jose A. Serpa, Larry D. Teeter, James M. Musser, and Edward A. Graviss
Table 1
Univariate analysis of selected epidemiologic and clinical characteristics of participants in the Houston Tuberculosis Initiative, Texas, 1995–2004*
| Variable | US-born black | US-born white | Hispanic | Asian | US-born black vs. white, OR (p value) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Demographics | ||||||
| Age, y, mean (median) | 42.5 (43.0) | 48.2 (47.0) | 36.9 (36.0) | 45.1 (43.0) | 0.98 (<0.001) | |
| Male sex | 938 (71.2) | 429 (78.7) | 783 (64.2) | 257 (55.5) | 0.67 (0.001) | |
| Not married | 1,091 (82.8) | 412 (75.6) | 742 (60.8) | 202 (43.6) | 1.56 (<0.001) | |
| Years of education, mean (median) | 10.6 12.0 | 11.7 12.0 | 254 (20.8) | 260 (56.3) | 0.90 (<0.001) | |
| Employed | 453 (34.4) | 214 (39.3) | 501 (41.1) | 209 (45.1) | 0.81 (0.045) | |
| Inner city residence† | 538 (40.9) | 198 (36.7) | 384 (31.5) | 40 (8.6) | 1.19 (0.094) | |
| Household size, mean (median) |
5.2 (3.0) |
4.5 (2.0) |
4.7 (4.0) |
5.1 (4.0) |
1.00 (0.454) |
|
| Social history | ||||||
| Income <$10K/year | 554 (51.7) | 161 (36.0) | 466 (46.0) | 78 (18.1) | 1.90 (<0.001) | |
| Use of public transportation | 664 (50.4) | 177 (32.5) | 363 (29.8) | 40 (8.6) | 2.11 (<0.001) | |
| Current homelessness | 129 (9.8) | 77 (14.2) | 32 (2.6) | 4 (0.9) | 0.66 (0.007) | |
| Stay in a shelter‡ | 132 (10.0) | 65 (11.9) | 17 (1.4) | 5 (1.1) | 0.82 (0.222) | |
| Current smoking | 745 (56.7) | 388 (71.5) | 279 (22.9) | 80 (17.3) | 0.52 (<0.001) | |
| Alcohol abuse§ | 601 (45.8) | 311 (57.4) | 251 (20.6) | 50 (10.8) | 0.63 (<0.001) | |
| Drug use‡ | 351 (26.7) | 129 (23.7) | 110 (9.0) | 4 (0.9) | 1.17 0.179) | |
| Injection drug use‡ | 25 (1.91) | 25 (4.6) | 9 (0.74) | 1 (0.22) | 0.40 (0.002) | |
| Same-sex sexual behavior | 129 (9.9) | 91 (17.0) | 69 (5.7) | 2 (0.4) | 0.54 (<0.001) | |
| Commercial sex | 168 (13.1) | 67 (12.6) | 52 (4.3) | 2 (0.4) | 1.05 (0.758) | |
| Prison history |
281 (21.4) |
92 (16.9) |
49 (4.0) |
5 (1.1) |
1.34 (0.026) |
|
| Medical history | ||||||
| Known TB exposure | 502 (38.1) | 222 (40.7) | 375 (30.7) | 86 (18.6) | 0.88 (0.222) | |
| Previous TB | 112 (8.5) | 55 (10.1) | 56 (4.6) | 41 (8.9) | 0.83 (0.274) | |
| Asthma | 85 (6.4) | 28 (5.1) | 40 (3.3) | 12 (2.6) | 1.27 (0.282) | |
| Diabetes | 168 (12.7) | 61 (11.2) | 224 (18.4) | 62 (13.4) | 1.16 (0.353) | |
| Renal disease | 76 (5.8) | 15 (2.8) | 34 (2.79) | 21 (4.54) | 2.16 (0.007) | |
| HIV seropositivity |
364 (27.6) |
109 (20.0) |
111 (9.1) |
8 (1.7) |
1.52 (0.001) |
|
| Diagnosis and prognosis | ||||||
| Pulmonary TB | 1,067 (81.0) | 496 (91) | 966 (79.2) | 341 (73.7) | 0.42 (<0.001) | |
| Extrapulmonary TB | 400 (30.3) | 97 (17.8) | 354 (29.0) | 153 (33.0) | 2.01 (<0.001) | |
| Cavitation | 458 (45.1) | 213 (46.1) | 405 (45.0) | 111 (37.1) | 0.96 (0.714) | |
| Smear-positive pulmonary TB | 577 (54.2) | 257 (51.9) | 473 (49.2) | 132 (38.7) | 1.10 (0.405) | |
| M. tuberculosis culture positivity | 1,102 (83.7) | 486 (89.2) | 979 (80.2) | 402 (86.8) | 0.62 (0.002) | |
| TB clustering | 822 (81.6) | 349 (77.2) | 466 (51.8) | 100 (27.9) | 1.31 (0.050) | |
| Drug resistance | 80 (7.3) | 22 (4.5) | 105 (10.7) | 79 (19.7) | 1.65 (0.043) | |
| Multidrug resistance | 3 (0.3) | 1 (0.2) | 15 (1.5) | 9 (0.9) | 1.32 (0.808) | |
| Death¶ | 143 (10.8) | 62 (11.4) | 80 (6.6) | 28 (6.0) | 0.95 (0.741) | |
*Stratification based on race does not include information about foreign-born blacks. Data presented as no. (%) participants except as indicated. OR, odds ratio; TB, tuberculosis; M. tuberculosis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
†Defined according to specific zip codes.
‡Within 6 months before TB diagnosis.
§Drinks alcohol daily or nearly daily.
¶Within 180 days after TB diagnosis.
