{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,4]],"date-time":"2026-08-04T12:24:35Z","timestamp":1785846275577,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":48,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"18","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2020,9,21]],"date-time":"2020-09-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1600646400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) can develop into tuberculosis (TB). The WHO requires the discovery and management of LTBI among high-risk groups. Health care workers (HCWs) constitute a high-risk group. Factors associated with LTBI among HCWs in Thailand need further study. The current study aimed to explore the factors related to LTBI among Thai HCWs. A hospital-based, matched case-control study was conducted. All cases and controls were HCWs at a tertiary hospital in northeastern Thailand. Between 2017 and 2019, a total of 85 cases of interferon-\u03b3 release assays (IGRAs)-proven LTBI, and 170 control subjects were selected from a hospital (two controls per case). The two recruited controls were individually matched with LTBI cases by sex and age (\u00b15 years). Secondary data were obtained from the occupational health and safety office. Case HCWs had a higher proportion of significant factors than control HCWs (i.e., working closely with pulmonary TB\u201494.1% vs. 88.8%, and working in the area of aerosol-generating procedures (AGPs) 81.2% vs. 69.4%). The bivariate conditional logistic regression showed that the occurrence of LTBI in HCWs was statistically significant (p-value &lt; 0.05), particularly with respect to: workplaces of AGPs (crude OR = 1.90, 95% CI: 1.01\u20133.58, p = 0.041); among HCWs performing AGPs (crude OR = 2.04, 95% CI: 1.20, 3.48, p = 0.007); and, absent Bacille Calmette-Gu\u00e9rin (BCG) scar (crude OR = 2.59, 95% CI: 1.50\u20134.47, p = 0.001). Based on the multivariable conditional logistics analysis, HCWs who performed AGPs while contacting TB cases had a statistically significant association with LTBI (adjusted OR = 1.82, 95% CI: 1.04\u20133.20, p = 0.035). HCWs who reported the absence of a BCG scar had a statistically significant association with LTBI (adjusted OR = 2.49, 95% CI: 1.65\u20135.36, p = 0.001), whereas other factors including close contact with TB (adjusted OR = 2.44, 95% CI: 0.74, 8.09, p = 0.123) were not significantly associated with LTBI. In conclusion, HCWs who performed AGPs and were absent a BCG scar had a significant association with LTBI, while other factors played a less critical role.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph17186876","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,9,21]],"date-time":"2020-09-21T08:18:01Z","timestamp":1600676281000},"page":"6876","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":7,"title":["Factors Associated with Latent Tuberculosis Infection among the Hospital Employees in a Tertiary Hospital of Northeastern Thailand"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Patimaporn","family":"Chanpho","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Faculty of Public Health, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen 40002, Thailand"},{"name":"Occupational Health and Safety Office, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen 40002, Thailand"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Naesinee","family":"Chaiear","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Occupational Health and Safety Office, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen 40002, Thailand"},{"name":"Division of Occupational Medicine, Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen 40002, Thailand"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Supot","family":"Kamsa-ard","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Faculty of Public Health, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen 40002, Thailand"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,9,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"World Health Organization (2019). 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