探討台東結核病人與社經狀況的關聯性

The Association between Socioeconomic Status and Tuberculosis in Eastern Taiwan

目的：評估社經狀況與結核病的影響。方法：東台灣結核病人與社區民眾為主的病例對照研究，採問卷調查及追蹤完治與否，並將性別、年齡、族群配對。結果：共有130位結核病人及119位非結核病的社區民眾接受問卷調查。我們發現結核病人有較高比例的人是低教育程度，沒有工作或打零工，收入偏低，糖尿病，酗酒習慣。當校正其他可能因素後，我們發現低教育程度，糖尿病及酗酒習慣為結核病發病的危險因素；而低教育程度的結核病人有較高比例無法完治。結論：低教育程度不只為結核病發病的危險因素而且較高比例無法完治。建議政府對低教育族群加強教育及防疫觀念。

Objectives. To evaluate the impact of socio-economic status on tuberculosis (TB). Methods. This population-based case control study was conducted in TB patients and sex-, age-, and ethnicity-matched people without TB from a community health screening in eastern Taiwan. Results. One hundred and thirty TB patients and 119 non-TB controls were interviewed. The TB patients had significantly higher proportion of low educational status, no job or part-time job, low monthly income, diabetes mellitus, and alcoholism than the non-TB controls. After adjusting for probable covariates, we found that people with low education levels, diabetes, and alcoholism remained at significant risk of developing TB. The TB patients with low education levels were at significantly greater risk of failure to treatment success. Conclusion. Low education level is a significant risk factor not only for the development of TB but also for treatment failure in eastern Taiwan. Policies encouraging more years of schooling and reinforcing education may provide health benefits in the disadvantaged areas and in populations with low socio-economic status.