Association of Body Mass Index With Tuberculosis Mortality: A Population-Based Follow-Up Study.

Area of Science:

• Clinical Medicine
• Epidemiology
• Public Health

Background:

• Limited and inconsistent evidence exists on the association between body mass index (BMI) and mortality in tuberculosis (TB) patients.
• Understanding this relationship is crucial for improving TB patient management and outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effect of BMI on TB-specific and non-TB-specific mortality in adult TB patients.
• To explore potential gender differences in the association between BMI and mortality.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective cohort study of adult Taiwanese TB patients in Taipei from 2011 to 2012.
• Multinomial logistic regression analysis was employed to assess the association between BMI and cause of death.
• Data on 1608 eligible patients were analyzed, considering confounders.

Main Results:

• Underweight BMI was significantly associated with increased risks of all-cause mortality (AOR, 1.66), TB-specific mortality (AOR, 2.14), and non-TB-specific mortality (AOR, 1.58).
• Overweight BMI was not significantly associated with increased mortality.
• In male patients, underweight BMI significantly increased the risk of TB-specific (AOR, 2.37) and non-TB-specific mortality (AOR, 1.58), but this association was not observed in female patients.

Conclusions:

• Underweight status is a significant risk factor for both TB-specific and non-TB-specific mortality during TB treatment.
• The increased mortality risk associated with underweight is particularly pronounced in male TB patients.
• These findings underscore the importance of nutritional status assessment and management in TB patients, especially for males.