Determinants of Default from Pulmonary Tuberculosis Treatment in Kuwait

Table 2

Demographic characteristics of defaulters and nondefaulters.

Variables	Defaulters (𝑛=110)	Nondefaulters (𝑛=330)	𝑃 value
Age group (years):
0–19	4 (3.6)	15 (4.6)	0.18 (NS)
20–39	45 (40.9)	115 (34.8)
40–59	39 (35.5)	100 (30.3)
≥60	22 (20.0)	100 (30.3)
Sex:
Female	26 (23.6)	125 (37.8)	0.006
Male	84 (76.4)	200 (62.2)
Nationality:
Kuwaiti	4 (20.9)	50 (15.1)	0.002
Non-Kuwaiti	106 (79.1)	280 (84.9)
Educational status:
Undergraduate	88 (80.0)	185 (56.1)	<0.0001
Graduate and above	22 (20.0)	145 (43.9)
Marital status:
Single	71 (64.5)	187 (56.7)	0.12 (NS)
Married	20 (18.2)	98 (29.7)
Divorced	11 (10.0)	28 (8.5)
Widowed	8 (7.3)	17 (5.1)
Case category:
New case	90 (81.8)	290 (87.9)	0.15 (NS)
Treatment after default	14 (12.7)	6 (1.8)	<0.0001
Relapse	2 (1.8)	10 (3.0)	0.74 (NS)
Others	4 (3.6)	24 (7.3)	0.26 (NS)
Concomitant illness:	23 (20.9)	21 (6.4)	<0.0001
Diabetes mellitus	11 (10.0)	13 (3.9)	0.02
Liver disease as fibrosis	6 (5.4)	4 (1.2)	0.02
Lung cancer	4 (3.6)	1 (0.3)	0.02
Renal disease	2 (1.8)	3 (0.9)	0.79 (NS)

There was no significant difference in age or marital status between defaulters and nondefaulters. The defaulted group had more men than women, a higher proportion with low educational level (80.0%), and a history of default compared with the control group. The difference was statistically significant (𝑃<0.05).
Regarding nationality, defaulting was more frequently encountered among non-Kuwaiti than Kuwaiti (79.1% and 20.9%, resp.). Non Kuwaiti defaulters including Indian (40.9%), Bangladeshi (20.9%), Indonesian (13.6%), Pakistani (10%), Philippine (6.4%), and other nationalities (4.6%).
A higher proportion of cases than of controls had concomitant illnesses; the proportion with diabetes, liver diseases, and lung cancers were higher among those who defaulted from treatment (𝑃<0.05).