Nontuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease (NTM PD) incidence trends in the United States, 2010-2019

• Published in: BMC infectious diseases 2024-10, Vol.24 (1), p.1094-7, Article 1094
• Main Authors: Bents, Samantha J, Mercaldo, Rachel A, Powell, Collin, Henkle, Emily, Marras, Theodore K, Prevots, D Rebecca
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis; Analysis; Aspergillosis; Bacteria; Beneficiaries; Bronchiectasis; Care and treatment; Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; Codes; Comorbidity; Control; Cystic fibrosis; Datasets; Demographics; Demography; Diagnosis; Diseases; Environmental bacteria; Estimates; Ethnicity; Female; Gastroesophageal reflux; Generalized linear models; Geography; Health care reform; Health maintenance organizations; HMOs; Humans; Identification and classification; Incidence; Lung diseases; Lung Diseases - epidemiology; Lung Diseases - microbiology; Male; Medicare; Medicare - statistics & numerical data; Minority & ethnic groups; Mycobacteria; Mycobacterium; Mycobacterium Infections, Nontuberculous - epidemiology; Mycobacterium Infections, Nontuberculous - microbiology; Nontuberculous mycobacteria; Nontuberculous Mycobacteria - isolation & purification; Older people; Population studies; Population-based studies; Prevalence; Pulmonary disease; Race; Statistical models; Time trends (Statistics); Trends; United States - epidemiology; Women
• ISSN: 1471-2334; 1471-2334
• DOI: 10.1186/s12879-024-09965-y

Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are ubiquitous environmental bacteria that cause chronic lung disease. Rates of NTM pulmonary disease (NTM PD) have increased over the last several decades, yet national estimates in the United States (US) have not been assessed since 2015. We used a nationally representative population of Medicare beneficiaries aged ≥ 65 years to assess rates of NTM PD in a high-risk population from 2010 to 2019. Poisson generalized linear models were used to assess the annual percent change in incidence in the overall population and among key demographic groups such as sex, geography, and race/ethnicity. We evaluated the relative prevalence of various comorbid conditions previously found to be associated with NTM PD. We identified 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, Asian individuals, and persons aged ≥ 80 years 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. Here we provide current estimates of NTM PD incidence and prevalence and describe increasing trends in the US from 2010 to 2019. Our study suggests a need for improved healthcare planning to handle an increased future caseload, as well as improved diagnostics and therapeutics to better detect and treat NTM PD in populations aged ≥ 65 years.