Setting: We conducted a systematic review of literatures on the prevalence and incidence of latent tuberculosis infection in correctional settings, with the aim of offering one of the resources to guide establishment of policies on screening for and treating LTBI among prisoners in Japan.
Objective: Using the keywords "latent tuberculosis AND (prison OR jail OR correctional)" and "tuberculosis infection AND (prison OR jail OR correctional)", we conducted a systematic review of relevant literatures on PubMed and secondary searches from the reference list of primary sources. We limited our search to those original articles published since 1980, and in English.
Results: 55 articles were identified, and 15 were subject to the systematic review. Of the 12 articles on prevalence of LTBI, 5 were from middle and high-burden and 7 from low-burden countries. The average prevalence of LTBI among middle and high-burden countries was 73.0%, and among low-burden countries, 40.3%. "Duration of incarceration" and "history of previous incarceration" were identified as risk factors for high LTBI prevalence which were specific to the prison population. Incidence of LTBI among the high-burden country was 61.8 per 100 person years, while 5.9 and 6.3 in the two reports from low-burden countries.
Conclusion: Prevalence and incidence of LTBI were higher than the general population, both in middle/high- and low-burden countries. The fact that "duration of incarceration" and "history of previous incarceration" were identified as risk factors indicate that high prevalence of LTBI among prison population is not just attributable to the characteristics of prisoners themselves, but also to the possibility of TB infection occurring in prison settings.