title: Mortality after anti-tuberculosis treatment completion: results of long-term follow-up.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Mycobacterium tuberculosis affects the lung parenchyma even after successful treatment.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess long-term mortality in a cohort of individuals who had recovered from tuberculosis (TB), and to compare their mortality rate and causes of death with those of the general population.
  
  
  METHODS
  This retrospective cohort study of all Israeli citizens who recovered from tuberculosis between 2000 and 2010 included all patient files and death certificates and/or hospitalisation records of deceased individuals. Death rates were computed using standard mortality rates (SMR). Cox proportional hazard regression was conducted to identify risk factors for death, and causes of death were compared with those in the general Israeli population.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Over 11 years of follow-up, comprising 18,246 person-years, 389 (12.0%) Israeli citizens died after completion of anti-tuberculosis treatment, giving an SMR of 3.7. The SMR was strongly correlated with age, and was highest in males and individuals aged 25-44 years. Compared to the general population, among individuals who recovered from TB there were more deaths due to septicaemia and pneumonia, and fewer deaths due to cerebrovascular diseases, stroke and diabetes (P < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Individuals who recover from TB are at higher risk of long-term mortality than the general population, and their causes of death are different. Periodical follow-up might be beneficial for individuals to facilitate early diagnosis.
authors.affiliation: Hadassah School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Braun Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shuldiner
authors.affiliation: Hadassah School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Braun Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel; Department of International Relations, Ministry of Health, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Leventhal
authors.affiliation: Department of Tuberculosis and AIDS, Ministry of Health, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chemtob
authors.affiliation: Department of Tuberculosis and AIDS, Ministry of Health, Jerusalem, Israel; Ramla Department of Health, Ministry of Health, Ramla, Israel.
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Mor
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000995:Antitubercular Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007557:Israel / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000401:mortality*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000995:Antitubercular Agents