Nutritional status of tuberculosis patients, a comparative cross-sectional study

Abstract Background Each year, more than 13.7 million people became an active case of tuberculosis and more than 1.5 million cases of tuberculosis patient will die. The association between tuberculosis and malnutrition is bi-directional, tuberculosis leads the patient to malnutrition, and malnutrition increases the risk of developing active tuberculosis by 6 to 10 times higher. Improving the nutrition of individual greatly reduces tuberculosis. The objectives of this study were to assess the nutritional status and determinants of tuberculosis patients. Methods A comparative cross-sectional study design was implemented. The sample size was calculated using Epi-info software. The data were collected from July 2015- May 2018. The data were collected by interviewing method, measuring anthropometrics indicators and collecting the stool and blood samples. The data were entered into the computer using Epi-info software and analyzed using SPSS software. Descriptive statistics were used to identify the proportion of malnutrition. Binary logistic regression was used to identify the determinants of malnutrition. Results A total of 5045 study participants were included giving the response rate of 93.1%. The prevalence of underweight among tuberculosis patients was 57.17% (95% CI: 54.80% -59.54%) and 88.52% of tuberculosis patients were anemic. The prevalence of malnutrition (underweight) among tuberculosis free residents was 23.37% (95% CI: 21.93-24.80). The nutritional status of tuberculosis patients were determined by site of infection AOR: 0.68[0.49-0.94], sex of the patient AOR: 0.39 [0.25-0.56], residence AOR: 3.84 [2.74-5.54], intestinal parasite infection AOR: 7 [5.2-9.95], alcohol use disorder AOR: 1.52 [1.17-2.13]. Conclusion High proportion of tuberculosis patients was malnourished. Tuberculosis patients were highly susceptible to malnutrition and even a very distal factor for malnutrition in the community became a proximal factor for tuberculosis patients.