Sex differences and HIV status of tuberculosis in adults at a rural hospital in southern Ethiopia: an 18-year retrospective cross-sectional study.

Background: The aim of the study was to compare the epidemiology, clinical characteristics and treatment outcome of tuberculosis (TB), including HIV status, in women and men in southern rural Ethiopia.

Methods: We conducted a register-based retrospective cohort study covering the period from September 1998 to August 2015.

Result: We included records of 2252 registered TB patients: 1080 (48%) women and 1172 (52%) men.