ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Infectious Diseases: Epidemiology and Prevention
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1659887
This article is part of the Research TopicWorld TB Day 2025: Yes! We Can End TB: Commit, Invest, DeliverView all 7 articles
An intersectionality perspective on tuberculosis: social determinants affecting tuberculosis mortality rate in Ecuador
Provisionally accepted- 1Universidad de Las Americas, Quito, Ecuador
- 2Universidad UTE, Quito, Ecuador
- 3Instituto Nacional de Investigacion en Salud Publica - Quito, Quito, Ecuador
- 4Universidad de Especialidades Espiritu Santo, Samborondon, Ecuador
- 5Universidad Catolica de Santiago de Guayaquil, Guayaquil, Ecuador
- 6University of the Americas, Quito, Ecuador
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The Intersectionality approach to studying tuberculosis (TB) is a complex one. While historical data and indicators consistently suggest a positive correlation between social determinants, such as poverty, and TB mortality, the strength of this association varies across different regions and countries. Overcrowding and population density are also recognized as risk factors for TB transmission. In this study, we conducted a descriptive and observational statistical analysis of TB mortality in Ecuador using the most recent public data from 2010. We examined the association between TB mortality and poverty, as well as territorial distribution, population density, and overcrowding. Our univariate analysis results indicate that the rural parishes or canton capitals in the first quintile of poverty (Q1) had the highest average mortality rates (14.23 per 100,000 inhabitants). Furthermore, the average TB mortality ratio was substantially higher in rural areas compared to urban ones (12.72 vs. 7.5 per 100,000 inhabitants). Interestingly, zones with the highest population density had a significantly lower average TB mortality ratio than those with the lowest density (4.82 vs. 15.19 per 100,000 inhabitants). Likewise, overcrowding analysis reveals a significant difference between the group with the highest level (O1) vs the lowest one (O5) (14.3 vs. 6.8 per 100,000 inhabitants). On the other hand, a multivariate linear regression model agrees that three of the four independent variables evaluated had statistically significant associations with tuberculosis mortality rate. The percentage of poverty, living in a rural area, and population density were significant predictors of higher mortality. In contrast, the level of overcrowding, as determined by multivariate analysis, did not show a significant association when the other independent variables were taken into account. These findings reinforce the strong link between TB mortality and poverty, rurality, a discreet relationship with overcrowding, and an inverse relationship with population density in the Ecuadorian context, highlighting the need for targeted public health interventions in rural underserved communities. Future research should explore how changes in socioeconomic conditions and healthcare access have influenced TB incidence.
Keywords: Tuberculosis, Ecuador, social determinants, Poverty, Rurality, Parishes
Received: 04 Jul 2025; Accepted: 06 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Rodriguez Pazmino, Paredes-Nuñez, Ramos Sarmiento, Lalangui, Orlando, Narvaez, Franco Sotomayor and Garcia Bereguiain. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Miguel Angel Garcia Bereguiain, magbereguiain@gmail.com
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