Pulmonary tuberculosis and diabetes mellitus: Co-existence of both diseases in patients admitted in a teaching hospital in the southwest of Iran

Background: A number of former studies have shown that tuberculosis (TB) is higher in diabetes mellitus (DM) patients than non-diabetics. Both DM and TB are major public health problems in Iran, and because of the lack of investigation in this field in the region, we conducted this study to evaluate the prevalence of DM in admitted pulmonary tuberculosis patients. Methods: The medical files of documented tuberculosis cases and DM patients hospitalized in Infectious Diseases Ward in Razi Hospital in Ahvaz, southwest Iran from 2008 to 2010 were reviewed. The study population was divided into 2 groups as DM-TB and non-DM-TB. The data in the two groups were compared. Results: One hundred and forty eight TB cases [36 (24.3%) DM cases with the mean age of 56.6±12.7 years, and 112 (75.7%) non-DM with mean age of 44.8±18.3 years] were studied. The estimated odds ratio (OR) of the association between DM and tuberculosis was 2.65 [(95% confidence interval (CI), 1.77 to 3.95), p < 0.001]. There was significant difference in HIV infection, illicit drug use and imprisonment between the two groups (p < 0.05). Conclusion: We found that the frequency of DM in TB patients in the region is more prevalent than it was expected. Tuberculosis had positive association to DM. DM might be an important risk factor for developing tuberculosis.