Malnutrition in African patients with pulmonary tuberculosis

Anthropometric measurements and hand-grip dynamometry were performed on 84 (52 male) African patients, aged 18-50 years, who were consecutively admitted to the General Hospital, Maiduguri, with pulmonary tuberculosis. Nutritional findings were related to clinical features, and also compared with those obtained in healthy age- and sex-matched hospital paramedical staff. Weight, subcutaneous fat, muscle mass and hand-grip strength were all significantly reduced in tuberculosis patients compared with controls (P less than 0.001). Patients with extensive radiological disease also had reduced measurements compared with those who had disease limited to one or two lobes (P less than 0.05). The results indicate that patients with pulmonary tuberculosis have a high degree of undernutrition, and further study is required to determine whether nutritional improvement accompanies successful chemotherapy.