Abstract:

Objective: To analyze the registration records of elderly pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) patients aged 65 and above in China from 2015 to 2021, to provide basis for strengthening TB control among elderly population. Methods: The medical records of elderly PTB patients aged 65 and above from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2021 were extracted from the Tuberculosis Management Information System (TBIMS), a subsystem of the Chinese Disease Control and Prevention Information System, which included data of gender, age, ethnic, population classification, current address, case finding methods, bacteriological test result, etc. The registration number of PTB patients from 2015 to 2021 was also obtained from the TBIMS. The number of elderly populations from 2015 to 2021 was derived from the 2021 National bulletin on the development of elderly population care issued by the National Bureau of Statistics. Descriptive analysis was made on the registration data and population characteristics of elderly PTB patients aged 65 and above. Results: From 2015 to 2021, a total of 1220494 elderly PTB patients aged 65 years and above were registered in China, and the registration rate dropped from 117.8/100000 (171033/145240000) in 2015 to 81.1/100000 (162565/200560000) in 2021, showing an overall statistically significant decline trend ( {\chi }_{\mathrm{T}\mathrm{r}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{n}\mathrm{d}}^2=21268.25, P<0.001). The proportion of elderly PTB patients among all PTB patients increased from 21.3% (171033/804164) in 2015 to 27.4% (162565/593743) in 2021 year by year, showing an overall statistically significant increasing trend ( {\chi }_{\mathrm{T}\mathrm{r}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{n}\mathrm{d}}^2=9195.04, P<0.001). The etiologically positive rate of elderly PTB patients increased from 33.0% (56426/171033) in 2015 to 64.1% (104182/162565) in 2021 year by year, showing an statistically significant increasing trend ( {\chi }_{\mathrm{T}\mathrm{r}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{n}\mathrm{d}}^2=67776.63, P<0.001). Among 1220494 elderly PTB patients, the male to female ratio was 2.37∶1 (858031/362463), the proportion of ethnic minorities was 15.7% (191525 patients), the proportion of farmers, herdsmen and fishermen was 76.8% (936988 patients), the proportions of patients from eastern, central and western regions were 28.0% (341971 patients), 36.7% (448430 patients) and 35.3% (430093 patients) respectively; the proportion of passive finding was 96.9% (1182243 patients). Conclusion: From 2015 to 2021, the registration rate of PTB patients aged 65 and above in China showed a decline trend, but its proportion among all patients had been increasing continuously. Therefore, the elderly are worth more attention, especially for men, ethnic minorities and people in the central and western regions; At the same time, scientifically and orderly developing PTB active case finding in elderly is worthy of further exploration.

Key words: Tuberculosis, pulmonary, Population surveillance, Elderly, Epidemiology