A recent study on more than 800 TB patients in Tamil Nadu (TN) revealed nearly 50 per cent of tuberculosis (TB) patients to either have diabetes or pre-diabetes condition. A two-hour Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT) revealed that 25.3 per cent of TB patients had diabetes and another 24.5 per cent had pre-diabetic condition. Out of the 25.3 per cent diabetics, more than nine per cent were newly detected and the rest were already diagnosed with TB.

The study was released today by Dr Vijay Viswanathan, managing director, M V Hospital for diabetes, and professor M Viswanathan of the Diabetes Research Centre, a WHO collaborating centre for research, education and training in diabetes. Published on 26 July 2012, in the prestigious Journal PLoS--One, the study was conducted among 827 TB patients registered under the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme in five select TB units in TN – Jaibeem Nagar and Medavakkam (urban), Budur and Beerakuppam (rural) and Nandivaram (semi-urban) – for Directly Observed Treatment Short-course (DOTS) therapy in the first quarter of 2011.

The study revealed that the prevalence of diabetes among TB patients was almost double than that of general population (10.4 per cent). “We, undertook this study to ascertain the prevalence of diabetes among patients with TB. It is very significant that half the number of patients with TB were diagnosed with either diabetes or pre-diabetes. These findings pose a great challenge for TB and diabetes control in the country because diabetes can worsen the clinical course of TB, and TB can worsen glucose control in people with diabetes,” informed, Dr Viswanathan.

This study also revealed that more men than women with TB were likely to develop diabetes. This may be due to factors such as smoking, tobacco use and alcohol consumption. It was also found that nearly half the patients with both diseases had the infectious form of pulmonary TB.

“Diabetic patients have weaker immunity and are more prone to infectious diseases than other people. Moreover, in countries where TB is prevalent, people with diabetes are three times at risk of acquiring the infectious disease. Given that the numbers of those with diabetes in India is increasing steadily and the threat of TB also looms large, it is necessary to detect patients with both the conditions to ensure that proper treatment is given for both diseases. TB patients can also be attributed to other factors, including family history, sedentary lifestyle and ageing. It is, therefore, paramount that all TB patients be screened for diabetes, as early diagnosis can help manage both the diseases,” Dr Viswanathan added.