Frequency of newly diagnosed Diabetes Mellitus in Tuberculosis Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the oldest diseases with a high mortality rate and is a serious public health problem all over the world. The disease is more common in some regions of the world, and some risk factors like overcrowding, immunocompromised states, and diabetes mellitus (DM) are well-known risk factors for its development and are also associated with delays in sputum conversion and unsuccessful outcomes.Objective: To determine the frequency of newly diagnosed diabetes mellitus (DM) in TB patients.Methodology: The present study was conducted at the Department of Pulmonology, Ayub Teaching Hospital, Abbottabad, from 2021 to 2022. Patients aged between 16-80 years, who presented with TB were enrolled in this study. TB wasdiagnosed via detection of MTB in sputum via microscopy, gene expert, or culture, or when decided by the consultant physician on the basis of a clinico-radiological basis. Newly diagnosed DM cases included those whose fasting blood sugar was >126 mg/dl or whose random blood sugar was >200 mg/dl.Results: Among study cases, 53.8% were male and 46.2% were female, with a mean age of 46.1±7.5 years. The difference in age and gender distribution was significant in TB patients. The rate of newly diagnosed DM patients was found to be 25.8%, with 11.0% among male patients and 14.8% among female patients. A positive and significant association (P = 0.03) was found among DM diagnosis in tuberculosis patients.Conclusion: The present study concluded that among tuberculosis patients, the occurrence of newly diagnosed diabetes mellitus was high, therefore, the concerned bodies are required to implement diabetes screening at TB clinics.