European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine

Abstract

Background: India is the world's largest TB epidemic country, with approximately 2-3 million new cases of TB. Diabetes mellitus (DM) is an emerging chronic health condition of developed and developing countries. It increases the risk of developing active TB by a factor of 2–3 compared with normal population. Materials And Methods: Patients with sputum smear positive pulmonary tuberculosis with diabetes mellitus were enrolled for a prospective observational study at GMC Jammu in India. Diagnosis of Diabetes Mellitus was based on the following criteria: Blood Sugar Fasting > 126 mg/dl, Blood Sugar (after 2 hrs during OGTT) > 200mg/dl and HbA1C > 6.5%. Results: Persons with diabetes mellitus (DM) have a 3-fold increased risk of developing tuberculosis. The median age of the Diabetic patients was significantly higher than the non-diabetics. Magee et al reported that TB–DM patients were significantly more likely to be older. After 2 months of treatment, the sputum positivity decreased in both the groups. There were significantly more Diabetics (28%) as compared to non- diabetics for AFB (P<0.05).  Conclusion: After anti-TB treatment, the sputum positivity decreased in both the diabetics and non-diabetics. However, decrease was less in diabetic patients at 2 months of treatment. Increasing age was an independent risk factor of increased risk of symptoms. Patients having both tuberculosis and DM should be screened for TB in early stages.