Unusual sex differences in tuberculosis notifications across Pakistan and the role of environmental factors

M. S. Khan, M. S. Khan, R. Hasan, P. Godfrey-Faussett

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

In developing countries, only one-third of new tuberculosis cases notified are from women. It is not clear whether tuberculosis incidence is lower in women than men, or whether notification figures reflect under-detection of tuberculosis in women. Pakistan, however, presents an unusual pattern of sex differences in tuberculosis notifications. While 2 of the 4 provinces (Sindh and Punjab) report more notifications from men (female to male ratios 0.81 and 0.89 respectively in 2009), the other 2 provinces (Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan) consistently report higher numbers of smear-positive tuberculosis notifications from women than men (1.37 and 1.40). No other country is known to have such a large variation in the sex ratios of notifications across regions. Large variations in female to male smear-positive notification ratios in different settings across a single country may indicate that environmental factors, rather than endogenous biological factors, are important in influencing the observed sex differences in tuberculosis notifications.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)821-825
Number of pages5
JournalEastern Mediterranean Health Journal
Volume19
Issue number9
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Sept 2013

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Unusual sex differences in tuberculosis notifications across Pakistan and the role of environmental factors'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this