Epidemiological Investigation of Tuberculosis in Khuzestan Province in 2005-2013

Tuberculosis (TB) is an important global health issue. TB is of particular importance in Iran because of its adjacency with two countries with high incidence rates of the disease. Obviously, investigation of time trend and epidemiology of TB can significantly contribute to planning and evaluation of TB controlling and prevention programs. Thus, the present study aimed to investigate the epidemiological features of TB in Khuzestan province.
This historical cohort study was conducted on all the registered TB cases in Khuzestan province from 2005-2013. The population data were obtained from Iran’s national statistics website and the patients’ records. Then, the data were analyzed using the SPSS statistical software, version 22.
In total, 7009 patients were registered as TB cases during the study period. The mean and median age of the patients was 39.5±18.3 and 35 years, respectively. Besides, 57.3% of the patients were male, 80% lived in urban areas, and 98.5% were Iranian. Moreover, 90.9% of the cases suffered from pulmonary TB. Among the rest of the patients, the most prevalent organs were lymph nodes (35%). The mean incidence rate of TB was 17.60 per 100000 during the study period, which seems to be following a rising trend (p>0.05).
The patients’ age distribution indicated active TB infection in the society. Considering the high transferability of the disease and the fact that most of the patients lived in urban areas, case finding in urban areas can help control TB in the society.