Epidemiological characteristics of nontuberculous mycobacteriosis and bronchiectasis: comparative study using national mortality statistics from 1970 to 2015 in Japan.

The trends in bronchiectasis-related mortality differed by sex. The epidemiological trends in the two diseases were associated, especially in elderly females since the mid-1990s. It is suggested that pulmonary NTMosis without pre-existing bronchiectasis might be a leading cause of postinfectious bronchiectasis in Japan.