Mortality from tuberculosis and HIV infection in the Kaluga region before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

• Irina S. Lapshina
• Erzheny B. Tsybikova

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the timeliness of diagnostic measures for a number of infectious diseases, which has affected the timing of diagnosis and the dynamics of the mortality rate.

The aim of the study was to investigate the dynamics of mortality in the Kaluga region before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Material and methods. A retrospective epidemiological analysis of mortality for 2012–2021 was carried out in the Kaluga region. The study included data on 2261 adult patients with respiratory tuberculosis (TB). In 104 cases, TB was diagnosed posthumously and in 2157 cases – intravital. Information from federal statistical observation forms No. 8 and 33 and Rosstat data on population for 2012–2021 were used. The results were processed using variation statistics methods. Statistical analysis was carried out using the StatTech v.3.0.6 program. Extensive indicators were calculated. Differences were considered statistically significant at p<0.05.

Results and discussion. In the Kaluga region, during the COVID-19 pandemic, an increase in mortality from TB was detected due to a significant increase in the proportion of patients in whom TB was diagnosed posthumously, most often among the unemployed. During the analyzed period, despite a significant increase in the proportion of HIV-infected people receiving antiretroviral therapy, there was an increase in the mortality rate from HIV infection (up to 4.1 per 100 thousand population in 2021).

Conclusion. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a downward trend in mortality from TB in the Kaluga region. During the pandemic, TB screening rates have decreased, leading to an increase in the number of TB patients. An increase in the proportion of patients with a posthumous diagnosis of TB was noted. Mortality from HIV infection has increased before the pandemic, and this trend continued during the pandemic.

Keywords:COVID-19 pandemic; mortality from tuberculosis and HIV infection; screening; post-mortem diagnosis of tuberculosis; groups at increased risk of tuberculosis

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