Determinants of childhood tuberculosis - A case control study among children registered under Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme in a district of South India.

Aim: To study the determinants of Tuberculosis (TB) in children between the age group of 0-14 years receiving treatment under Revised National TB Control Programme (RNTCP) . Methods: A case (registered under RNTCP) control study was undertaken with 41 cases and 82 controls. Results: Factors found to have significance according to binary logistic regression were low-birth weight (LBW) [Odd’s ratio=3.56],Malnutrition [Odd’s ratio=3.96], Passive smoking [Odd’s ratio=6.28] and exposure to fire-wood smoke [Odd’s ratio=6.91]. Conclusion: LBW, malnutrition, passive smoking and fire-wood smoke are the risk factors to be addressed to prevent pediatric TB.