Delay analysis of pulmonary tuberculosis in the eastern coastal county of China from 2010 to 2021: evidence from two surveillance systems

BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major public health challenge. However, indicators of delays in assessing effective TB prevention and control and its influencing factors have not been investigated in the eastern coastal county of China. METHODS: All notified pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) cases in the Fenghua District, China were collected between 2010 and 2021 from the available TB information management system. Comparison of delays involving patient, health system, and total delays among local and migrant cases. Additionally, in correlation with available Basic Public Health Service Project system, we performed univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses identified the influencing factors associated with patient and total delays in patients aged >60 years. RESULTS: In total, 3,442 PTB cases were notified, including 1,725 local and 1,717 migrant patients, with a male-to-female ratio of 2.13:1. Median patient and total delays of local TB patients were longer than those for migrant patients; the median health system delay did not show any significant difference. For patient delay among the older adult, female (cOR: 1.93, 95% CI: 1.07–3.48), educational level of elementary school and middle school (cOR: 0.23, 95% CI: 0.06–0.84) had a statistical difference from univariable analysis; however, patients without diabetes showed a higher delay for multiple-factor analysis (aOR: 2.12, 95% CI: 1.02–4.41). Furthermore, only the education level of elementary school and middle school presented a low total delay for both univariate (cOR: 0.22, 95% CI: 0.06–0.82) and multivariate analysis (aOR: 0.21, 95% CI: 0.05–0.83) in the older patients. CONCLUSION: The delay of TB cases among migrants was lower than the local population in the Fenghua District, which may be related to the “healthy migrant effect”. It highlights that women, illiterate people, and people without diabetes are key groups for reducing delays among older adults. Health awareness should focus on these target populations, providing accessible health services, and reducing the time from symptom onset to diagnosis.