Incidence of Tuberculosis and Associations with Indicators of Alcohol Consumption in Three Regions of Northwest Russia in 1975–2009: A Time-Series Analysis

BACKGROUND Alcohol has several social consequences that are associated with increased risk of tuberculosis. However, there have been no studies assessing the links between tuberculosis and alcohol consumption in northwest Russia. The aim of this study was to assess associations between the incidence of tuberculosis and indicators of alcohol consumption in three regions of northwest Russia. METHODS The study was performed in Arkhangelsk, Murmansk and Vologda regions using the data from 1975 to 2009. Deaths from alcohol poisoning and the incidence of alcohol psychoses were used as indicators of alcohol consumption. Associations between the incidence of tuberculosis and the above mentioned indicators were studied using time-series analysis. RESULTS We identified significant positive associations between the incidence of tuberculosis and the incidence of alcohol psychoses in the same year in Arkhangelsk region (β = 0.24, 95% CI: 0.10-0.37) and in Vologda region (β = 0.18, 95% CI: 0.10-0.25), but not in Murmansk region. CONCLUSIONS We found an association between the incidence of alcohol psychoses and the incidence of tuberculosis in the same year in Arkhangelsk and Vologda regions suggesting an indirect link between excessive levels of alcohol consumption and the incidence of tuberculosis in Russia.