Factors associated with latent tuberculosis among international migrants in Brazil: a cross-sectional study (2020)

BackgroundMigrants are a high priority group for TB control measures due to their high exposure to risk factors such as poverty and social vulnerability. The study aimed to identify factors associated with latent TB among international migrants living in four Brazilian state capitals. This was a cross-sectional study conducted in September and October 2020 in a sample of 903 international migrants living in four Brazilian state capitals: Boa Vista/RR (458), Manaus/AM (136), SAo Paulo/SP (257), and Curitiba/PR (52). Data were collected with a questionnaire consisting of open and closed questions on personal characteristics, information on TB, and use of preventive measures. Tuberculin skin test (TST) was performed, with reading after 72h by trained nurses and using 5mm induration as the positive cutoff. Chi-square test (X-2) and Fisher's exact test, both two-tailed, were used to compare statistically significant levels of association between the migrants sociodemographic characteristics, vulnerability, and latent TB infection (LTBI). Binary logistic regression was applied to calculate odds ratios and respective 95% confidence intervals. For all the tests, type I error of 5% was defined as statistically significant (p