Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To investigate the rates of latent TB infection (LTBI) in a sample of young people in San Diego County and examine potential predictors of a positive tuberculin skin test (TST). METHODS: Latino and foreign-born students from ten public middle and high schools were invited to screenings along with a random 10% sample of all other students. After obtaining parental consent, Mantoux tests were placed (N=2,698) and read (n=2,667 [98.9%]) in 48-72 hours. A positive TST was defined as > or =10 mm induration. The mean age of the sample was 14.34 years (SD=1.81); 50.1% were female (n=1,353); 78.5% were Latino (n=2,108); 35.7% were foreign-born (n=939); and 44.3% were uninsured (n=930). RESULTS: The positive TST rate for Latinos was 21.8% vs. 5.6% for non-Latinos, p<0.001. Foreign-born Latinos had the highest infection rate (31.3%), followed by foreign-born non-Latinos (20.4%), U.S.-born Latinos (15.4%), and U.S.-born non-Latinos (1.0%), p<0.001. Logistic regression was conducted to determine predictors of TST positivity. Being Latino (odds ratio [OR]=3.27), uninsured (OR=1.60), foreign-born (OR=3.90), and living in the south county region closest to the U.S./Mexico border (OR=2.72) were significant predictors. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that Latino youth near the California/Mexico border are at high risk for infection, for remaining undiagnosed, and for being under-treated for LTBI.
Full Text
The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (189.9 KB).
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Dye C., Scheele S., Dolin P., Pathania V., Raviglione M. C. Consensus statement. Global burden of tuberculosis: estimated incidence, prevalence, and mortality by country. WHO Global Surveillance and Monitoring Project. JAMA. 1999 Aug 18;282(7):677–686. doi: 10.1001/jama.282.7.677. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Nolan C. M. Community-wide implementation of targeted testing for and treatment of latent tuberculosis infection. Clin Infect Dis. 1999 Oct;29(4):880–887. doi: 10.1086/520453. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Pong A. L., Anders B. J., Moser K. S., Starkey M., Gassmann A., Besser R. E. Tuberculosis screening at 2 San Diego high schools with high-risk populations. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1998 Jul;152(7):646–650. doi: 10.1001/archpedi.152.7.646. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]