[Recent epidemiologic and clinical aspects of adolescent tuberculosis in workers]

The epidemiologic and clinical aspects of tuberculosis have been investigated on the young tuberculosis patients (less the 29 years old), utilizing the individual records of the periodic health examination in the JR railway workers. The results were as follows: 1) Following the gradual decline, the incidence rate of tuberculosis in working ages has remained at almost a constant level during last ten years. 2) The incidence rate of tuberculosis among young adults has been lower than that in elder adults (aged 30 years or older). 3) All young tuberculosis patients were detected by the periodic health examination. 4) The lower value of body mass index (BMI) was considered as a high risk factor associated with development of tuberculosis among young adults, as revealed by a case-control study. A case of an outbreak of tuberculosis in a office involving 10 young cases was presented. It is urgently needed to conduct the contact examination eagerly among young workers in order to prevent tuberculosis epidemic.