Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 21, 2026
Analysis of 18FDG PET/CT Imaging as a Tool for Studying Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infection and Treatment in Non-human Primates
Published on: September 5, 2017
Health Care Visits as a Risk Factor for Tuberculosis in Taiwan: A Population-Based Case-Control Study
Sung-Ching Pan1, Chien-Chou Chen1, Yi-Ting Chiang1
1Sung-Ching Pan and Chi-Tai Fan are with the Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan. Chien-Chou Chen, Yi-Ting Chiang, and Hsien-Ho Lin are with Institute of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei. Hsing-Yi Chang is with the Center for Health Policy Research and Development, National Health Research Institutes, Taipan, Taiwan.
Objectives:
To assess whether health care visits of nontuberculous patients are a risk factor for contracting tuberculosis.
Methods:
We conducted a case-control study nested within the cohort of 1 million individuals from the health insurance database in Taiwan between 2003 and 2010. We identified incident cases of tuberculosis through International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes and prescription of antituberculosis drugs. We identified 4202 case participants and 16 808 control participants matched by age, gender, and date of diagnosis to estimate the association between frequency of health care visits and incidence of tuberculosis.
Results:
Frequency of health care visits was associated with increased risk of tuberculosis in a dose-dependent manner after adjustment for other medical comorbidities (P for trend < .001). Compared with individuals with fewer than 5 visits per year, those with more than 30 had a 77% increase in tuberculosis risk (adjusted odds ratio = 1.77; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.60, 1.97).
Conclusions:
Frequent health care visits of nontuberculous patients appear to be a risk factor for contracting tuberculosis.
Public Health Implications:
Efforts should focus on educating the general population to avoid unnecessary hospital visits, strengthening active case finding, and intensifying infection control in all health care settings.
More Related Videos
09:34An Automated Culture System for Use in Preclinical Testing of Host-Directed Therapies for Tuberculosis
Published on: August 16, 2021
06:26Author Spotlight: Optimizing CFU Determination for Efficient Assessment of TB Vaccine Efficacy and Antigen Presentation Analysis
Published on: July 28, 2023
Related Concept Videos
01:28Pulmonary Tuberculosis V
Latent tuberculosis infection occurs when TB bacteria are present in a person's body, but are not causing illness or symptoms. It is not contagious, and preventive treatment is crucial to avoid the...
01:29Pulmonary Tuberculosis I
Causative Organism
The primary infectious agent causing tuberculosis is Mycobacterium tuberculosis, a slow-growing, acid-fast, aerobic rod that exhibits sensitivity to heat and ultraviolet light. Instances of Mycobacterium bovis and Mycobacterium avium contributing to the development of TB infection are rare.
Mode of...
01:26Pulmonary Tuberculosis IV
Several diagnostic approaches are used to detect TB. The conventional method is the Tuberculin Skin Test (TST), also known as the Mantoux test. However, this method has...
01:31Pulmonary Tuberculosis III
The first classification is based on the development of the disease, and it includes the following categories:
01:28Pulmonary Tuberculosis II
Here is a detailed explanation of its pathophysiology:
Transmission: The process begins when a person inhales droplet nuclei containing M. tuberculosis. These are typically released into the air when an individual with pulmonary or...
01:25Transmission-based Precautions II: Airborne and Protective Environment
Airborne precautions:
Use airborne precautions when treating patients known or suspected to have diseases that spread through the air—for example, tuberculosis or measles. These organisms are present in smaller droplets expelled by an infected person and...