Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS-attributed mortalities and associated sociodemographic factors in Papua New Guinea: Evidence from the comprehensive health and epidemiological surveillance system

Tuberculosis (TB) and HIV/AIDS are public health concerns in Papua New
Guinea (PNG). This study examines TB and HIV/AIDS mortalities and
associated sociodemographic factors in PNG. Method: As part of a
longitudinal study, verbal autopsy (VA) interviews were conducted using
the WHO 2016 VA Instrument to collect data of 926 deaths occurred in the
communities within the catchment areas of the Comprehensive Health and
Epidemiological Surveillance System from 2018-2020. InterVA-5 cause of
deaths analytic tool was used to assign specific causes of death (COD).
Multinomial logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify
associated sociodemographic factors, estimate odds ratios (OR), 95%
confidential intervals and p-values. Result: TB and HIV/AIDS were the
leading CODs from infectious diseases, attributed to 9% and 8% of the
total deaths, respectively. Young adults (25-34 years) had the highest
proportion of deaths from TB (20%) and the risk of dying from TB among
this age group was five times more likely than those aged 75+ years (OR:
5.5 [1.4-21.7]). Urban population were 46% less likely to die from this
disease compared rural ones (OR: 0.54 [0.3-1.0]). People from middle
household wealth quintile were three times more likely to die from TB than
those in the richest quintile (OR: 3.0 [1.3-7.4]). Young adults also had
the highest proportion of deaths to HIV/AIDS (18%) and were nearly seven
times more likely to die from this disease compared with those aged 75+
years (OR: 6.7 [1.7-25.4]). Males were 48% less likely to die from
HIV/AIDS than females (OR: 0.52 [0.3-0.9]). The risk of dying from
HIV/AIDS in urban population was 54% less likely than their rural
counterparts (OR: 0.46 [0.2-0.9]). Conclusion: TB and HIV/AIDS
interventions are needed to target high-risk and vulnerable populations to
reduce premature mortality from these diseases in PNG.