Diabetes has same effect as HIV on tuberculosis
CHENNAI: The combination of diabetes and tuberculosis doesn't just complicate treatment; the double disease could be as dangerous as having HIV/AIDS with TB. A new study has confirmed that diabetes can make the TB bacteria harder to treat, just as HIV/AIDS does.
A group of doctors from MV Hospital for Diabetes, who pored over records of tuberculosis patients registered in the government's Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme in Chennai, Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram , found that at least 50% of TB patients had diabetes or pre-diabetes.
All patients were given medication under the DOTS (Directly Observed Treatment Short Course) programme, recommended by World Health Organisation for TB control. At the end of two months, doctors did a sputum test to see if medicines had brought down infection. Nearly 14% of patients with diabetes tested positive for TB compared to 3% of those without diabetes . After six months, doctors said 4% of TBdiabetes patients had not responded to treatment compared to 0.7% of those without diabetes.
The effect of diabetes on TB is similar to HIV on TB, said diabetologist Dr Vijay Vishwanathan , who led the research team. They will urge the government to integrate national programmes for TB and diabetes. "We must ensure that all TB patients are tested for diabetes and vice versa," he said. According to the Union health ministry, 40% of Indians are TB carriers. At least 10% of people in India are diabetic and in cities like Chennai the incidence is 20%.
"The chances of TB recurrence are higher among diabetics. We are planning a larger study to determine a new treatment regimen, including better diagnosis methods for TB-diabetes patients," said Dr Vishwanthan.
National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis director Soumya Swaminathan said they did a study among 100 patients with TB and diabetes and found that if sugar levels are under control, treatment outcomes are better. "This hardly happens. TB is diagnosed when patients are in their 40s, the same time when many learn they are diabetics as well," she said.
Source: The Times of India
