The following is a summary of “Nontuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease (NTM PD) incidence trends in the United States, 2010–2019,” published in the October 2024 issue of Infectious Diseases by Bents et al. 

An environmental bacterium that causes chronic lung disease is Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM).   

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to estimate the incidence and mortality of NTM pulmonary disease in the United States (US).   

They used a nationally representative population of Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 years and older to assess rates of NTM PD from 2010 to 2019. Poisson generalized linear models were used to specify the annual percent change in incidence in the overall population and among key demographic groups such as sex, geography, and race/ethnicity and the relative prevalence of comorbid conditions previously associated with NTM PD was also assessed.   

The results showed 59,724 cases of incident NTM PD from 2010 to 2019 from an annual mean population of 29,687,097 beneficiaries, with an average annual incidence of 20.1 per 100,000 population. NTM PD incidence was overall highest in the South and among women, Asians, and persons aged 80 years and older relative to other studied demographic groups. The annual percent change in NTM PD incidence was highest in the Northeast, at 6.5%, and Midwest, at 5.9%, and among women, at 6.5%. Several comorbid conditions were highly associated with concurrent NTM diagnosis, including allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis, bronchiectasis, and cystic fibrosis.   

They concluded that the study provided recent estimates of NTM PD incidence and prevalence, emphasizing growing trends in the US from 2010 to 2019, which indicated a need for enhanced healthcare planning and improved diagnostics and therapeutics for populations aged ≥ 65 years. 

Source: bmcinfectdis.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12879-024-09965-y