Results of the Elderly Tuberculosis Screening Project 2023-2024 in the Republic of Korea

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency operates a mobile tuberculosis (TB) screening program targeting adults aged 65 years and older who are vulnerable to TB and have limited access to healthcare for the early detection and prevention of community transmission. This study analyzed the outcomes of the program conducted in 2023-2024 to determine directions for future implementation.

For greater accessibility, TB screening was conducted in locations where the target population resided. The screening process consisted of a prescreening questionnaire and chest X-ray examination, with follow-up sputum testing for individuals with TB-related symptoms (cough lasting ≥2 weeks) and for those with abnormal chest X-ray findings.

A total of 373,080 individuals were screened during 2023-2024, and 259 TB cases were identified through early detection, corresponding to 69.4 cases per 100,000 screenings. Characteristics significantly associated with TB diagnosis included male sex, advanced age, prolonged cough (≥2 weeks), a history of previous TB, and abnormal chest X-ray findings (p≤0.001). Notably, 79.9% of confirmed TB cases reported no cough lasting ≥2 weeks, and 62.9% were initially classified as having inactive TB based on chest X-ray findings but were subsequently confirmed by sputum examination as having active TB.

The mobile TB screening program enhances early case detection by expanding sputum testing to include individuals classified as having inactive TB by chest X-ray, thereby proactively identifying a broader range of TB cases than the national TB screening program.