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Tuberculosis (TB) is a chronic infectious and inflammatory disease caused by the bacillus Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Renal TB is the third most common form of extra-pulmonary TB. The disease has shown an increase in incidence in the last decade, and the prison population is more susceptible to this disease. The aim of this study is to analyze the prevalence of genitourinary TB in prisoners in Brazil.
This is a cross-sectional and documentary study with a quantitative approach, with data from SINAN from DATASUS (public health system data set from Brazil), from 2010 to 2020. The variables gender, TB clinical manifestation and age group per year were evaluated.
In the study period, there were 969,427 reported cases of TB in the Brazilian population, of which 539,846 affected the general population and 70,687 affected prisoners, mainly in the age group of 20-29 years (83.4%) and affecting more males. (97%), with 3104 cases reported of the genitourinary form. It was possible to observe that in 2010 there was a large underreporting of the specific form of TB manifestation with around 95% of cases not having their form specified. Over time, underreporting decreased and it was demonstrated that in the prison population the prevalence of genitourinary TB was on average 2.5% of cases, compared to the general population which is around 0.15%, confirming the position of prisoners as a population at risk. It was also possible to observe a peak in the prevalence of the genitourinary form in 2017, following the increase in TB cases in the general population.
Genitourinary TB remains a frequent condition among the Brazilian population and that it has a prevalence of infection pattern consistent with the demographic data of the prisoners, affecting mainly young males aged 20 to 29 years. Furthermore, in low- and middle-income countries, such as Brazil, underdiagnosis and underreporting are higher when compared to other countries, corroborating the mortality levels and the lack of prevention measures and early diagnosis. There is a need for greater knowledge and identification of the disease to carry out new health promotion measures.