Objective: The objective of this study was to identify factors associated with survival among prisoners at Mbuji-Mayi Central Prison, in Democratic Republic of Congo between January 2014 and December 2016.
Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study. The mortality rate was calculated during the 3-year follow-up period and the Kaplan-Meier survival curve was determined. Cox regression and risk ratio (HR) were used to analyze and quantify factors associated with survival. The study involved a total of 793 inmates.
Results: The average age of inmates was 33 ± 10 years (extremes: 17-67 years). The median follow-up time was 12 months for a total of 7,513 person-months. The number of deaths recorded was 135, for a mortality rate of 17.9/1,000 person-months. Risk factors associated with death were malnutrition (HR = 17.5; 95% CI = [12.1; 25.4]) and tuberculosis (HR = 11.8; 95% CI = [7.7; 17.8]).
Conclusion: This study highlights a high rate of deaths in prisons and identifies the two potential factors (malnutrition and tuberculosis) that prison and health authorities need to address.