Investigating the risk factors for contraction and diagnosis of human tuberculosis in Indonesia using data from the fifth wave of RAND’s Indonesian Family Life Survey (IFLS-5)

摘要

Tuberculosis (TB) is a globally widespread disease, with approximately a quarter of the world’s populationcurrently infected (WHO, 2018). Some risk factors, such as HIV status, nutrition and body mass index,have already been thoroughly investigated. However, little attention has been given to behavioural and/orpsychological risk factors such as stress and education level. This study investigated the risk factors for TBdiagnosis by statistical analyses of publicly available data from the most recent wave of the IndonesianFamily Life survey (IFLS-5) conducted in 2015. Out of 34,249 respondents there were 328 who reportedhaving TB. For comparison and completeness, variables were divided into levels: individual-, householdandcommunity-level variables. The most prominent and interesting variables found to influence TBdiagnosis status (on each level) were investigated, and a logistic regression was subsequently developedto understand the extent to which each risk factor acts as a predictor for being diagnosed with TB.Age, health benefit or insurance, stress at work and living in a rural area all showed significant associationwith TB diagnosis status. This study’s findings suggest that suitable control measures, such as schemes forimproving mental health/stress reduction and improved access to health care in rural areas should beimplemented in Indonesia to address each of the key factors identified.