Differences in prevalence of urinary diseases among prisoners in Taiwan: a cross-sectional study (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Prisoner health is an important global health concern. However, studies of this topic in Asia are limited. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to explore and compare the prevalence rates of urinary diseases in Taiwanese prisoners. METHODS The data of prisoners from the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) were used in this study. Urinary diseases (codes 580–599) were identified using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) codes. Sex- and age-stratified analyses were conducted to determine the different prevalence rates of urinary diseases. RESULTS We examined 83 048 prisoners, including 2998 with urinary diseases. The prevalence of urinary system diseases among prisoners was 3.61%. The prevalence in men was lower than that in women (prevalence ratio: 0.46, P<.0001), and the prevalence in prisoners aged >40 was higher than in prisoners aged ≤ 40 (prevalence ratio: 1.69, P<.0001). Female and older adult inmates had a high prevalence of most urinary system diseases. CONCLUSIONS Urinary system infections and inflammation are common in prisons. Integrated services and interventions must be provided to prisoners to enhance medical accessibility and availability. Further research connecting claims data and prisoner information is important for providing more comprehensive medical services to achieve health equity.