Abstract:

Objective: To analyze and compare the epidemiological characteristics of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) patients among the elderly and other populations in Kunming City, providing scientific references for TB prevention and control in the elderly. Methods: The case information of patients with active tuberculosis in Kunming was collected from 2014 to 2023 through the Tuberculosis Information Management System, a subsystem of the China Information System for Disease Control and Prevention. Patients were categorized into elderly (≥65 years) and non-elderly (<65 years) groups. The epidemiological characteristics and registration status of the two groups of patients were compared. Results: From 2014 to 2023, a total of 21011 patients with active tuberculosis were registered in Kunming, including 4502 elderly patients (21.43%) and 16509 other patients (78.57%). The average registration rate of elderly patients was 60.85/100000, which was 2.49 times higher than that of other patients (24.47/100000). The registration rate of elderly patients exhibited a unimodal distribution, peaking at 81.24/100000 in 2019 (580 cases), then decreasing to 49.79/100000 in 2022 (481 cases), and rising again to 52.11/100000 in 2023 (519 cases). The proportion of elderly patients among all patients showed an upward trend (${\chi }_{trend}^{2}$=109.875, P<0.001), increasing from 16.67% (280/1680) in 2014 to 27.12% (519/1914) in 2023. The positive rate of etiology among elderly patients was 51.67% (2326/4502), which was higher than that of other patients (44.68% (7376/16509), the difference being statistically significant (χ²=70.047, P<0.001). The positive rate of etiology among elderly patients exhibited an upward trend (${\chi }_{trend}^{2}$=152.621, P<0.001), increasing from 43.21% (121/280) in 2014 to 66.67% (346/519) in 2023. The proportion of elderly patients with comorbid diabetes among all registered tuberculosis patients showed an upward trend (${\chi }_{trend}^{2}$=43.886, P<0.001), increasing from 5.71% (16/280) in 2014 to 17.15% (89/519) in 2023. Conclusion: The situation of tuberculosis epidemic among the elderly in Kunming is severe, and the level of patient detection needs to be improved. It is necessary to strengthen active screening and health education, and continue to implement standardized management for elderly patients.

Key words: Aged, Tuberculosis, pulmonary, Epidemiological study characteristics as topic