B1372
Title: STAR Modeling in the battle against pulmonary tuberculosis: Risk areas and associated risk factors
Authors: Bruno de Sousa - TopAtlantico (Portugal) [presenting]
Carlos Pires - University of Coimbra (Portugal)
Dulce Gomes - University of Evora (Portugal)
Patricia Filipe - ISCTE - University Institute of Lisbon (Portugal)
Ana Costa-Veiga - Lisbon School of Health Technology-Instituto Politecnico de Lisboa (Portugal)
Carla Nunes - National School of Public Health-Universidade Nova de Lisboa (Portugal)
Abstract: Tuberculosis (TB) is still a major global health problem with the World Health Organization estimating that 10 million people fell ill with the disease in 2019, and considering it one of the Top 10 causes of death worldwide (WHO, 2020). Studies that understand the socio-demographic characteristics and time and spatial distribution of the disease are vital to allocating resources in order to improve National TB Programs. The database includes information from all confirmed Pulmonary TB (PTB) cases notified in Continental Portugal. A descriptive analysis of the main risk factors of the disease and the results of two Structured Additive Regression (STAR) models are presented. The former explores possible spatial and temporal correlations in PTB incidence rates in order to identify the regions of increased incidence rates, while the latter provides the profile of the individuals within these regions.
