Study identifies exposure risk as cause for higher tuberculosis rates in men

A new study published in the journal ‘eClinicalMedicine’ suggests that the global trend of men accounting for approximately two-thirds of all tuberculosis cases is driven by higher exposure rather than biological susceptibility.

Researchers from University College London analyzed data from over 22,000 individuals across 11 prospective cohort studies spanning 14 countries in Europe, Africa, Asia, and South America. The findings indicate that men were more likely to have already been infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis at the start of the studies compared to women.

When the researchers adjusted for this initial higher rate of infection, the likelihood of developing active tuberculosis during the observation period was not significantly higher for men than for women. This suggests that the gender imbalance in tuberculosis diagnoses is primarily due to men being more frequently exposed to the bacteria in their daily lives, rather than being biologically more prone to the disease once infected.