Individual Risk Factors of Mycetoma Occurrence in Eastern Sennar Locality, Sennar State, Sudan: A Case-Control Study

Mycetoma is a serious chronic subcutaneous granulomatous inflammatory disease that is endemic in tropical and subtropical regions, where it impacts profoundly on patients, families, and communities. Individual-level risk factors for the disease are poorly understood. To address this, a case-control study was conducted based on data collected from 60 villages in Eastern Sennar Locality, Sennar State, Sudan. Based on the presence of swelling in any part of the body, or sinus formation with or without grain discharge evident from the lesion by ultrasound examination, we diagnosed 359 cases of mycetoma. For each case, we included three healthy sex-matched persons, with no evidence of mycetoma, from the same village as the control group (n = 1077). The odds for mycetoma were almost three times higher in individuals in the age group 16-30 years (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) = 2.804, 95% CI = 1.424-5.523) compared to those in age group <= 15 years. Other factors contributing to the odds of mycetoma were history of local trauma (AOR = 1.892, 95% CI = 1.425-2.513), being unmarried (AOR = 3.179, 95% CI = 2.339-4.20) and owning livestock (AOR = 3.941, 95% CI = 2.874-5.405). In conclusion, certain factors found to be associated with mycetoma in this study could inform a high index of suspicion for mycetoma diagnosis, which would improve early case detection. Other factors found to be associated could inform the development of an interventional program for mycetoma control in Sudan, including education on healthy farming practices and the risks of puncture wounds for individuals residing in endemic areas. However, this work was conducted in one endemic state, while mycetoma cases occur in all states of Sudan. Replicating this study over a wider area would give a fuller picture of the situation, providing the control program with more comprehensive information on the risk factors for the disease.