Discrepancies in tuberculosis burden estimates: North Korean defectors vs. official reports.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

North and South Korea have taken different approaches to tuberculosis (TB) epidemic control after the Korean War. This study aimed to compare TB epidemiology in North Korean defectors (NKDs) based on South Korean National Health Insurance (NHIS) data and assess its implications for understanding TB prevalence in North Korea.

Methods

We used the NHIS claims data from 2007 to 2019 to evaluate TB epidemics in NKD and the age-and-sex matched South Korean control group. The number of participants was 35,620 for defectors and 107,016 for the control group.

Results

The prevalence of TB among NKDs decreased from 466/100,000 persons in 2010 to 95/100,000 persons in 2019, while the North Korean TB prevalence as per the World Health Organization (WHO) report remained

SUBMITTER: Jang I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12163040 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature