Evaluation and Comparison of Body Mass Index and Albumin Level in Patients with Active Tuberculosis and Latent Tuberculosis Infection

Introduction: Limited data are available on the relationship between nutritional status and tuberculosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the body mass index (BMI) and serum albumin level in patients with active tuberculosis (ATB) and latent tuberculosis (LTB). Materials and Methods: A crosssectional study was conducted on 17 patients newly diagnosed with pulmonary TB  who were referred in Iran, during September 2011 to March 2012 and 17 latent tuberculosis infection individuals. Standard method was performed to collect an early morning fasting blood sle for albumin (by the bromocresolgreen method). Also (BMI) was calculated as body weight divided by height squared (kg/m2). Results: Onesle KolmogorovSmirnov test was used to check normal distribution data The mean ± Standard deviation(SD) for albumin in the patients and controls were 3.62±0/56 and 4.68±0.25, respectively. BMI in the patients and controls were 19.46±2.79 and  25.4±3.46, respectively. The serum albumin level was significantly lower in the patient group, compared to the control group (Plt 0.001).BMI was significantly lower in the patient group, compared to the control group (Plt 0.001). Conclusion: Our findings demonstrated that BMI and serum Albumin were significantly lower in the active tuberculosis patients than latent tuberculosis groups.