Tanaka G, Jo T, Tamiya H, et al. - Many parts of the world are reported to have an increasing incidence and prevalence of non-tuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease (NTM-PD). Researchers investigated the characteristics of patients with NTM-PD and clinical deterioration and sought for factors linked to the risk of in-hospital mortality. From the Diagnosis Procedure Combination (DPC) database in Japan, they identified a total of 16,192 patients (median age: 78 years; women: 61.2%). Findings suggest that in patients with NTM-PD, being underweight and having several comorbidities are associated with increased in-hospital mortality. They highlight the importance of preventing weight loss and management of comorbidities for improving the prognosis of this disease.