This study, with a hybrid, ecological and time-tendency design, sought to establish the relation between the spatial correlation in the occurrence of new cases of TB in the year 2000 and to ascertain the association between living conditions and TB distribution in Ribeirão Preto, State of São Paulo, between 2000 and 2006. The thematic maps were elaborated with the help of MapInfo 7.5 and spatial statistical analysis using Spring 4.3. For the remaining calculations, SPSS 10.0 was used. The indices with the highest factor loads were family heads earning 2 minimum wages or less and with less than 3 years of education. The comparison of the living conditions and TB maps revealed a relation between TB and poorer areas in the city, as the incidence rate in the cluster with poor living conditions was 49.9/100,000 inhabitants. The gross Chance Ratio, considering the cluster with the high living conditions as a reference, proved the association between TB and living conditions and 3.30 for the low living conditions cluster (CR=3.30; CI95%: 1.90-5.70). The city's stratification according to living conditions and incidence of TB allowed for the identification of risk areas, providing input for the local TB Control Program.
Social conditions; Space-time clustering; Epidemiology; Tuberculosis
