*Comorbidity, *Counseling, *Diabetes, *Food habits, *Mycobacterium tuberculosis, *Tuberculosis, *Physical activity, *Descriptive statistics, *Tertiary care, *Psychology

Background: Worldwide increasing prevalence of DM may counteract the positive effects of improved curative services for TB. Aims & Objectives: To identify factors associated with Diabetes Mellitus among Tuberculosis Patients attending Tertiary Care Hospital in Delhi. Material & Methods: This study was conducted among 220 TB patients. Results: It was found that 16% were co-morbid. Among co-morbid patients, the age distribution skewed towards higher age groups as compared with only TB patients. Co-morbidity was higher among females (64%) as compared to males (36%). Higher percentage among Co-morbid patients (78%) belonged to lower socio-economic class compared to TB patients (58%). Statistically significant association of comorbidity was found with physical activity, dietary habits and tobacco/alcohol consumption. However, only one third of patients who were aware about DM, knew that diabetic patients are more prone to acquire TB infection. Among co-morbid cases, only 50% were aware that uncontrolled DM delays the cure of TB. Findings also suggested that the sputum conversion rate among the co-morbid patients was low compared with the only TB patients. Conclusion: The study concludes that counseling of patient with DM against higher risk of contracting TB and TB patients against delayed cure should be made as a part of national strategy to manage DM-TB comorbidity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Indian Journal of Community Health is the property of Indian Journal of Community Health and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)