Abstract
BACKGROUND: Air pollution as a potential risk factor, mediator or moderator of TB incidence. Most of the studies focused on the provincial and urban areas, while Changping District, as a high incidence area and county of tuberculosis in Beijing, its relationship with pollutants is not clear, so this study aims to investigate the associations of air pollutants and their interactions on the number of new TB cases in Changping District, Beijing, China. METHODS: Data from Beijing Changping Institute for Tuberculosis Prevention and Treatment on monthly new TB cases from 2014 to 2022. Distributed lag nonlinear models are used to examine the associations of each 10 µg/m(3) increase in PM(10) and NO(2) concentrations, along with extreme exposure episodes, with TB incidence. RESULTS: The cumulative relative risk (RR) of increasing pollutant concentrations is positively correlated with lag months for PM(10), but the opposite result is observed for NO(2). In terms of long and short-term relationships, increased PM(10) concentration and extremely low NO(2) concentration are associated with long-term hazardous for most subgroups, while extremely high PM(10) and NO(2) concentrations are associated with short-term hazardous. CONCLUSION: Increased concentrations of PM(10) and NO(2) having long-term or short-term effects on populations. Therefore, strengthening air quality monitoring and control is of great significance for the prevention of tuberculosis in Beijing. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-025-24517-y.