Cohort profile: a multicenter hospital-based cohort of tuberculosis and nontuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease in Korea, 2015–2024

Tuberculosis and nontuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease are major causes of chronic respiratory morbidity, yet detailed multicenter clinical data remain limited.We established a retrospective multicenter cohort using electronic medical records from 4 national universityaffiliated tertiary hospitals in Korea.Eligible participants included patients with tuberculosis registered in the Korean National Tuberculosis Surveillance System and patients who met modified 2007 American Thoracic Society/Infectious Diseases Society of America microbiological criteria for nontuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease between 2015 and 2024.De-identified, standardized datasets were created using common data specifications and harmonized at a central coordinating center.The cohort included 11,790 patients with tuberculosis and 5,145 patients with nontuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease.Tuberculosis notifications declined steadily from 1,657 cases in 2015 to 580 cases in 2024, whereas nontuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease showed an overall upward trend despite a modest decrease in the final year.Mycobacterium avium complex accounted for 78.7% of nontuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease cases, with M. intracellulare and M. avium as the predominant species.Macrolide-based multidrug regimens were used consistently throughout the study period.This cohort profile describes the registry design, case definitions, E p u ba h e a d o f p r i n t data structure, and key baseline findings; the registry provides a platform for future clinical, epidemiological, and health-services research on mycobacterial disease in Korea.