The disease profile of Texas prison inmates

PURPOSE: Whereas prison inmates are reported to exhibit poorer overall heal th status and higher rates of health care utilization than the general popu lation, no current information exists on the overall disease profile of the U.S. prison population The present study examined che prevalence of major acute and chronic conditions in one of the nation's largest prison populati ons. METHODS: The study population consisted of 170,215 Texas Department of Crim inal Justice (TDCJ) inmates who were incarcerated between August 1997 and J uly 1998. Information on medical conditions and sociodemographic factors wa s obtained from an institution-wide medical information system. RESULTS: Infectious diseases (29.6%) constituted the most prevalent major d isease category among inmates. This was followed by diseases of the musculo skeletal system and connective tissue (15.3%), diseases of the circulatory system (14.0%), mental disorders (10.8%), and diseases of the respiratory s ystem (6.3%). Among the specific conditions examined, evidence of tuberculo sis infection without active pulmonary disease (20.1%) was found to be the most prevalent condition, followed by hypertension (9.8%), asthma (5.2%), l ow back pain (5.1%), and viral hepatitis (5.0%). CONCLUSIONS: The present study shows that for a number of conditions, the p rison population exhibited prevalence rates that were substantially higher than those reported for the general population. Moreover, estimates for a n umber of diseases varied substantially according to age, race, and gender. Understanding the disease profile in U.S. incarcerated populations will per mit correctional administrators to develop more efficient health care deliv ery systems for prison inmates. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights r eserved.