Investigation of tuberculosis incidence and particulate matter concentration in the middle east

Air pollution is the fifth and sixth leading risk factor for global mortality and reduced life expectancy. Studies have established a link between atmospheric pollution and the incidence, hospitalization, and mortality rates of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB). The city of Zabol has experienced persistent dust storms for several years, with an average annual PM₁₀ concentration of 206 µg/m³-more than nine times the permissible limit. The results of this study indicate a significant correlation between increased PM₁₀ levels and the incidence of tuberculosis. To model the disease, machine learning (ML) techniques, including support vector machines (SVM) and k-nearest neighbors (KNN), were employed. Among these, SVM demonstrated the highest accuracy, with a correlation coefficient of 92.4% between the experimental data and the model's training outputs.