Department of Epidemiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan; Department of Infectious Diseases, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark; Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark; International Reference Laboratory of Mycobacteriology, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark; Medical Department, Queen Ingrid's Hospital, Nuuk, Greenland.
Abstract. Extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) is an important health problem that may cause serious morbidity and diagnostic challenges. We conducted a case-control study involving 5,684, approximately 99% of bacteriologically confirmed TB patients (including 1,925 EPTB cases) diagnosed in Denmark and Greenland during 1992-2007 to gain insight to the role of host factors in EPTB pathogenesis. Among patients from Somalia and Asia, persons 25-44 and 45-64 years of age were more likely to have EPTB than persons 15-24 years of age. In contrast, among persons from Greenland, the two oldest age groups were significantly less likely to have EPTB than the youngest age group. For all the age groups, the odds for having EPTB was significantly higher among patients from Somalia and Asia and significantly lower among the patients from Greenland than among patients from Denmark. Furthermore, the occurrence of specific types of EPTB significantly varied among different age groups or origins.