Characteristics of included countries
| Variables | Countries n# | Minimum | Maximum | Mean | sd for mean |
| Outcome | |||||
| TB incidence rate per 100 000 population | 154 | 3.16 | 1247.80 | 64.07¶ | 4.18+ |
| TB case notification rate per 100 000 population | 154 | 0.21 | 262.95 | 22.20¶ | 3.42+ |
| Vitamin D proxies | |||||
| Mean UV-B exposure J·m−2·day−1 | 157 | 1104.08 | 7243.57 | 4057.75 | 1508.01 |
| Seasonality of UV-B exposure§ | 156 | 18 134.10 | 235 484.90 | 125 321.71 | 51 717.06 |
| Average degree of skin pigmentationƒ | 152 | 1.00 | 2.99 | 1.79 | 0.79 |
| Degree of urbanisation | 155 | 9.20 | 100.00 | 56.11 | 23.04 |
| Fish consumption kg·capita−1·year−1 | 149 | 0.06 | 44.18 | 10.83 | 9.71 |
| Food fortification policy (no/yes) | 157 | 0 (83.4%) | 1 (16.6%) | ||
| Covariates | |||||
| Age years median | 156 | 15.30 | 43.90 | 27.18 | 8.62 |
| Sex male to female ratio | 155 | 84.50 | 272.30 | 101.28 | 20.68 |
| BMI mean | 153 | 20.50 | 30.10 | 24.97 | 2.25 |
| Human Development Index ranking | 153 | 1.00 | 153.00 | 77.00 | 44.31 |
| TB/HIV co-infection % of incident TB | 137 | 0.06 | 79.40 | 13.40 | 18.36 |
| Alcohol use disorder prevalence % | 152 | 0.20 | 17.70 | 4.37 | 3.18 |
| Type 2 diabetes prevalence % | 153 | 4.79 | 6.54 | 5.42 | 0.25 |
| GDP per capita USD | 147 | 451.00 | 133 713.00 | Median: 10 685.00 | IQR: 20 765.00 |
TB: tuberculosis; UV-B: ultraviolet B; BMI: body mass index; GDP: gross domestic product; IQR: interquartile range. #: for which data is available. ¶: geometric mean. +:sd for geometric mean. §: sd from mean monthly values (J·m−2). ƒ: calculated for each country as follows: ((% light skin pigmentation/100)×1)+((% medium skin pigmentation/100)×2)+((% dark skin pigmentation/100)×3). The average degree of skin pigmentation was categorised a priori as follows: 1.0–1.5 (category 1); 1.5–2.0 (category 2); 2.0–2.5 (category 3); 2.5–3.0 (category 4) for univariate and multivariate analyses.