Tuberculosis among migrant workers in Taiwan.
Global Health
; 15(1): 18, 2019 02 28.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-30819237
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Although the worldwide incidence of tuberculosis (TB) has been slowly decreasing, the migrant workers remains an important gap for regional TB control. In Taiwan, the numbers of the migrant workers from countries with high TB incidence increase significantly in past decades and the impact on public health remains unknown. This study aimed to explore the difference of TB incidence between Taiwanese and the migrant workers.METHODS:
The migrant workers are obligated to receive pre-arrival, post-arrival and regular chest X-ray screening during their stay in Taiwan. We retrospectively collected these data extracted from the Alien Workers Health Database in Centers for Disease Control, Taiwan from Jan. 1, 2004 to Dec. 31, 2013. Poisson regression models were used to compare the hazard ratios of TB between Taiwanese and the migrant workers after adjusting gender and age groups.RESULTS:
The total migrant workers in Taiwan reached 314,034 persons in 2004 and 489,134 persons in 2013, accounting for 2% of Taiwan population. The TB incidence of migrant workers was similar to Taiwanese (53-73.7 per 105 vs 45.5-76.8 per 105). Comparing with Taiwanese, the TB risk was significantly lower in male migrant workers (HR 0.76; 95% CI 0.70-0.83, P < 0.001), but higher in female migrant workers (HR 1.40; 95% CI 1.35-1.46, P < 0.001). Besides, we found that the TB risk in migrant workers was 5.30-fold (95% CI 4.83-5.83, P < 0.001) in youngest group (≤24 year-old) comparing with Taiwanese.CONCLUSIONS:
Migrant workers in Taiwan have higher TB incidence than Taiwanese in young groups, especially in females. The mainstay young laborers with latent tuberculosis infection risk is an important vulnerability for public health. Further investigation and health screening are warranted.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Migrantes
/
Tuberculose
Tipo de estudo:
Incidence_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
Limite:
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
País/Região como assunto:
Asia
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Global Health
Ano de publicação:
2019
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Taiwan