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Background: A survey made in 1991-92, reported Sahariya, a primitive tribe of India (M. P.), having high prevalence of pulmonary tuberculosis. No follow-up study was undertaken thereafter. Objective: The present study was aimed to know the current status of tuberculosis (TB) in Sahariya after more than a decade of the last survey of 1991-92, as compared to that in Bhil, another primitive tribe living in the same area but never investigated for TB incidence. Materials and Methods: A total of 763 random sputum smears from Sahariya and 169 sputum smears from Bhil were screened for the presence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M..tb) in order to evaluate the prevalence of pulmonary tuberculosis in both the tribes. Chi square (χ²) statistics was performed to study the correlation between age, sex on the one hand and with the prevalence of smear-positive pulmonary TB on the other hand, if any. Results: In Sahariya, the prevalence of smear-positive pulmonary TB was found increased significantly (P<0.005) to 0.454 as against 0.274 estimated in the earlier survey (1991-92). Males, particularly, appeared most affected (P<0.005; 0.382), especially adults (0.260). In contrast, among Bhil, the prevalence was very low. Conclusion: The observed increase in TB prevalence and its gender bias in Sahariya tribe indicate the high incidence rate and faster transmission of infection, especially in male sex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Worldwide, the case notification rate of tuberculosis has been reported to be higher for men than women. In India also, the prevalence of TB is higher among males as compared to females but it is important to study the trend of gender gap in the prevalence of tuberculosis over the years. Objective: To examine the trend in gender gap in the prevalence of TB over the years. Materials and Methods: The unit level data of NFHS-2 (1998-99) and NFHS-3 (2005-06) has been utilized. Gender gap in the prevalence of TB has been estimated for the two rounds of the surveys. The delta (δ), the difference in gender gap in two surveys, has been estimated and decomposed by background characteristics such as place of residence(urban/rural), religion (Hindus/Muslims/others), caste(SC/ST/OBC/others) and standard of living(SLI) (low/medium/high) categories. Main Findings: Overall, the prevalence of TB has remained almost same in the two surveys [432/lakh in NFHS-2 and 418/lakh in NFHJS-3; Z=1.19, P=0.275. The gender gap has increased to 217/lakh in NFHS-3 in comparison to 145 per lakh in NFHS-2. The increase in gender gap is significantly higher in rural areas [of 98 per lakh;167/ lakh in NFHS-2 vs 265/lakh in NFHS-3; P<0.05] as compared to corresponding increase in urban areas [of 30 per lakh; 88/ lakh in NFHS-2 vs 118/ lakh in NFHS-3, P>0.05]. The increase in delta (δ) (difference in gender gap in two surveys) is accounted for as 88% by the rural areas and 12% by the urban areas. Conclusion: The increase in gender gap in the prevalence of TB is more in rural areas as compared to urban areas. The increase in rural areas is mainly contributed by Hindus, SC and ST and low and medium SLI categories and in urban areas, the contribution is mainly by Hindus, other castes and high SLI categories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]