Homelessness and Mortality Among Persons With Tuberculosis in Texas, 2010-2017

Infectious Diseases Among People Experiencing Homelessness: A Systematic Review of the Literature in the United States and Canada, 2003-2022

Homelessness increases the risk of acquiring an infectious disease. We conducted a systematic review of the literature to identify quantitative data related to infectious diseases and homelessness. We searched Google Scholar, PubMed, and SCOPUS for quantitative literature published from January 2003 through December 2022 in English from the United States and Canada. We excluded literature on vaccine-preventable diseases and HIV because these diseases were recently reviewed. Of the 250 articles that met inclusion criteria, more than half were on hepatitis C virus or Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Other articles were on COVID-19, respiratory syncytial virus, Staphylococcus aureus, group A Streptococcus, mpox (formerly monkeypox), 5 sexually transmitted infections, and gastrointestinal or vectorborne pathogens. Most studies showed higher prevalence, incidence, or measures of risk for infectious diseases among people experiencing homelessness as compared with people who are housed or the general population. Although having increased published data that quantify the infectious disease risks of homelessness is encouraging, many pathogens that are known to affect people globally who are not housed have not been evaluated in the United States or Canada. Future studies should focus on additional pathogens and factors leading to a disproportionately high incidence and prevalence of infectious diseases among people experiencing homelessness.

Geoprogrammatic disparities in the performance of tuberculosis indicators in the homeless population in Brazil: an ecological approach

OBJECTIVE

To analyze the performance and spatial distribution of tuberculosis control indicators in the homeless population in Brazil.

METHODS

Ecological study, which had the regions and federal units of Brazil as the unit of analysis. The indicators considered, referring to the period from 2015 to 2021, were: proportion of HIV testing, proportion of tuberculosis-HIV co-infection, proportion of directly observed treatment, and proportion of outcomes (cure, treatment abandonment and death). The calculation was performed on each ecological unit, as recommended by the Ministry of Health. For the production of geographic figures, the technique of natural breaks was used.

RESULTS

It was identified that people living on the streets had: low HIV testing, especially in Pará (71.7%); high proportion of tuberculosis-HIV coinfection, especially in Rio Grande do Sul (39.9%); and unsatisfactory implementation of directly observed treatment, mainly in Paraíba (7.7%). With regard to outcomes, there was a high rate of treatment abandonment, with a higher proportion in Roraima (52.9%), and a high number of deaths, with an emphasis on Mato Grosso do Sul (23.1%), which also recorded the worst cure rate (28.7%).

CONCLUSION

There was evidence of poor performance of tuberculosis control indicators in homeless people, with heterogeneous distribution between states and regions of the country, and it is clear that most of them had insufficient results. These data raise the persistence of difficulties and challenges inherent to the implementation of tuberculosis control strategies for this population in the national territory.

Impact of Deprivation on the Incidence and Severity of Tuberculosis in Children: A Retrospective Study from 2007 to 2020 in a Tertiary Care Center in Paris, France

OBJECTIVE

To assess the association between deprivation and the incidence and clinical severity of tuberculosis (TB) in children.

STUDY DESIGN

Children ≤18 years old who were admitted for TB between 2007 and 2020 at a tertiary hospital were included in this retrospective study. Deprivation was assessed using the French Deprivation Index. TB severity was assessed using the Wiseman classification. Multivariate analyses were carried out.

RESULTS

In total, 222 patients were included. The median age was 10.8 years (IQR 4.5-14.4). TB was considered severe in 126 patients (56.8%), with 50% of the patients included in the 2 most deprived groups. The most-deprived children had a TB incidence that was 58 times greater than that of the least-deprived children (95% CI 28.49-119.40). There was no significant association between deprivation and severity in the multivariable analysis after adjusting for age and circumstances of diagnosis. Deprivation was associated with an increased length of stay in the most-deprived groups (OR 3.79, 95% CI 1.55-10.23). There was a trend toward a greater proportion of symptomatic children in the most-deprived group.

CONCLUSIONS

TB incidence and hospital length of stay increased with deprivation levels but not with the severity of TB.

Tuberculosis among People Living on the Street and Using Alcohol, Tobacco, and Illegal Drugs: Analysis of Territories in Extreme Vulnerability and Trends in Southern Brazil

(1) Background: Tuberculosis presents an epidemiological trend toward inequality, especially among people in social exclusion and situations of vulnerability. This study aimed to analyze territories with a concentration of people diagnosed with tuberculosis in a street situation and who partake in chronic use of alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs. We also analyzed trends in this health condition in southern Brazil. (2) Methods: Ecological study, developed in the 399 municipalities of Paraná, southern Brazil, with all tuberculosis cases in the homeless population registered in the Information System of Notifiable Diseases between 2014 and 2018. For data analysis, we used descriptive statistics, the Prais–Winsten autoregression method for the time series, and the Getis-Ord Gi technique* for spatial analysis. (3) Results: in total, 560 cases were reported. We found a predominance of alcohol, smoking, and illicit drug users, with an increasing trend in the state and clusters of spatial risk in the East health macro-region. (4) Conclusions: We observed territories with critical levels of highly vulnerable people who use psychoactive substances and are in a street situation. The results highlight the importance of incorporating public policies of social protection for these individuals and resolutive health services that receive these cases and assist in eradicating TB.

Diagnosis and treatment outcomes of adult tuberculosis in an urban setting with high HIV prevalence in Sierra Leone: A retrospective study

OBJECTIVE

To assess the diagnosis, treatment outcomes, and predictors of mortality in adult tuberculosis (TB) patients in an urban setting with a high HIV prevalence.

METHODS

A retrospective study was conducted of adult TB patients aged ≥15 years who were treated at Connaught Hospital in Freetown, Sierra Leone from January through December 2017. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify predictors of mortality.

RESULTS

Of 1127 TB cases notified in 2017, 1105 (98%) were tested for HIV, yielding a TB/HIV co-infection rate of 32.0%. Only HIV-tested cases (n=1105) were included in the final analysis. The majority were male (69.3%), aged 25-34 years (29.2%), and had pulmonary TB (96.3%). Treatment outcomes were as follows: 29.0% cured, 29.0% completed, 0.5% treatment failure, 24.2% lost to follow-up, 12.8% transferred/not evaluated, and 4.5% died. The majority of deaths (80.0%, 40/50) occurred within 2 months of TB treatment initiation. Age 65 years or older (adjusted odds ratio 3.48, 95% confidence interval 1.15-10.56; p=0.027) and HIV-positive status (adjusted odds ratio 3.50, 95% confidence interval 1.72-7.12; p=0.001) were independent predictors of mortality.

CONCLUSIONS

Suboptimal TB treatment outcomes were observed in Sierra Leone in 2017. More local and international action is warranted to help achieve the 2035 global TB elimination targets.