Abstract:

Objective To analyze the epidemic characteristics of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) in the elderly people in Heilongjiang Province.Methods A total of 227 812 PTB cases whose current address was Heilongjiang Province in “National Notifiable Disease Report System” from 2011 to 2017 were collected, including 38177 cases aged ≥65 years. The demographic data was derived from Heilongjiang Statistical Yearbook. Descriptive statistical methods were used to analyze the epidemic characteristics of senile PTB.Results The reported incidence of senile PTB decreased from 152.7/100000 in 2011 to 122.4/100000 in 2017, indicating an annual decline rate of 3.6%; the difference was statistically significant (χ ²=362.77, P<0.01). The reported incidence of smear-positive senile PTB decreased from 57.4/100000 in 2011 to 26.1/100000 in 2017, indicating an annual decline rate of 12.3%; the difference was statistically significant (χ ²=672.80, P<0.01). The reported incidence of PTB in the elderly was 142.4/100000, which was 1.6 times that of the whole population (87.0/100000). The highest number of elderly PTB cases was reported in the first quarter, which accounting for 30.7% (11717/38177) of the year. The top three cities for the incidence of senile PTB were Mudanjiang City (182.7/100000), Jixi City (180.0/100000) and Shuangyashan City (170.2/100000), respectively. The incidence of senile PTB was highest in the 80-84 age group, which was 175.8/100000. The reported incidence of PTB was 91.1/100000 in elderly males, which was 1.8 times that of the elderly females (51.2/100000). Conclusion From 2011 to 2017, the epidemic situation of PTB in the elderly in Heilongjiang Province showed a downward trend year by year, but it was still serious. The elderly is the focus of TB control in our province.

Key words: Tuberculosis, pulmonary, Aged, Disease notification, Incidence, Data interpretation, statistical