Tuberculosis burden in indigenous population of Paraguay from 2018 to 2022

Abstract

This study aims to report the epidemiological characterization, incidence, mortality and prognostic factors of tuberculosis in indigenous patients of Paraguay from 2018 to 2022. A retrospective cohort study was carried out with data extracted from the National Tuberculosis Program from January 2018 to June 2022. The clinical records of 1659 indigenous patients were included in the study. The indigenous population with tuberculosis in the period 2018-2022 was between 0 and 20 years old (25.4%), mostly female (54.6%), residing in Presidente Hayes (22.4%), and was from the rural area (74.3%), of the Mbya ethnic group (20.4%). The diagnosis was bacteriological in 69.2%, 96.1% had pulmonary location, 94.5% of the study population started treatment and 1.1% presented drug-resistance, while 88.3% corresponded to new cases. The highest number of new cases of tuberculosis in indigenous people was 336 in 2019. The incidence of tuberculosis was associated with age and area of residence, being more incident in the youngest and in the Presidente Hayes area. A total of 11.2% died, and the highest number of deaths occurred in 2019 with 47 cases (14%). We observed that the elderly, who did not start treatment, and who were coinfected with HIV were more likely to die from tuberculosis. The number of new cases and mortality from tuberculosis is high in the Paraguayan indigenous population. Age and coinfection with HIV continue to be risk factors for mortality.