Tuberculosis and poverty.

Abstract

To examine whether the historical link between tuberculosis and poverty still exists. Retrospective study examining the notifications of all forms of tuberculosis by council ward over a six year period and correlating this with four indices of poverty; council housing, free school meals, the Townsend overall deprivation index, and the Jarman index. The 33 electoral wards of the city of Liverpool. 344 residents of Liverpool with tuberculosis. The rate of tuberculosis was correlated with all measures of poverty, the strongest correlation being with the Jarman index (r = 0.73, p < 0.0001). This link was independent of the high rates of tuberculosis seen in ethnic minorities. Tuberculosis remains strongly associated with poverty.