Risk Factors for Latent Tuberculosis Infection Among Children in

ABSTRACT. Objective. Although identification and appropriate treatment of children with latent tuberculo-sis (TB) infection (LTBI) is considered critical to the control and elimination of TB in the United States, there are limited data on risk factors for LTBI in pediatric populations. Methods. To further improve targeted screening for LTBI, we performed a matched case–control study from September 1996 to December 1998. We actively surveyed 24 primary care clinics serving Northern Manhattan and Harlem twice monthly for case participants 1 to 5 years old with LTBI, defined as a child with a Mantoux tuber-culin skin test (TST)>10 mm and a normal chest radio-graph. Two age- and clinic-matched control participants with TSTs equal to 0 mm were enrolled per case. To determine risk factors for LTBI, a bilingual research worker reviewed the medical records of study partici-pants and administered a questionnaire to the parents of participants. Results. We enrolled 96 cases and 192 controls whom did not differ by age, gender, ethnicity, and race; overall, the mean age of participants was 2.9 years, 51 % were male, 80 % were Hispanic, and 9 % black. Logistic regres-sion analysis demonstrated that contact with an adult with active TB, foreign birth, foreign travel, and a rela-tive with a positive TST were predictive of case status. In contrast, a history of a previous negative TST proved protective and BCG immunization was not an indepen-dent risk factor for a positive TST, suggesting that boost-ing was not important in this population. Conclusions. We identified several risk factors for LTBI in children that can be used to refine targeted surveillance for TB among Hispanic immigrant popula-tions in the United States. Pediatrics 2001;107:999–1003; Mycobacterium tuberculosis, children, latent tuberculosis infection, latent infection, pediatrics. ABBREVIATIONS. TB, tuberculosis; LTBI, latent tuberculosis in-fection; TST, tuberculin skin test; HIV, human immunodeficienc