Tuberculosis Linked to Diabetes
Posted on July 17, 2008 in Current Affairs by Danteshwari
Diabetes is fueling deadly Tuberculosis in India according to researchers. It is held responsible for almost 10% of the overall TB cases in China and India.
Scientific data of almost four decades, covering 1.7 million people, was reviewed. The studies on these people was carried out in Canada, Mexico, US, Britain, Taiwan, Russia, South Korea and India. Researchers concluded that those suffering from Diabetes were three times at a higher risk of acquiring active TB as compared to those with normal blood sugar.
The findings were published in the Public Library of Science Journal ‘PloS Medicine (July, 2008). Epidemiologist, Megan Murray of Harvard University said that there was sufficient evidence, which proved that people were predisposed to TB if suffering from Diabetes. Also, the ability to respond to infection was impaired.
According to the findings, TB develops more frequently among people suffering from Diabetes as compared to those not having it. Diabetics need to be screened for TB and treated accordingly in countries like India. As of now most believed that HIV was responsible for the TB in India.
The findings have serious implications for India since there are the highest number of Diabetes and TB patients here. Presently, 35 million people are affected by Diabetes in India. Also there are 3.8 million patients suffering from TB at a given time. On the whole 18 lakh new cases of TB are annually recorded. Experts feel that nearly 6 lakh people do not know that they suffer from TB. Diabetes impairs immune responses, which are required to control bacterial infections.
Dr. Anoop Mishra, director, department of Diabetes, Fortis Hospital is of the view that TB infection being triggered off aggressively by Diabetes is new knowledge. Treatment of TB is affected by high blood sugar, as result of which diabetics are more difficult to be treated for bacterial infection.
Scientists claim that every year around 8.8. million people suffer from active TB and about 1.6 million people die due to this infection, which is highly contagious. It usually affects the lungs. To reduce TB, it was necessary to identify the factors that cause it.
source TOI July 16th, 2008
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