Tuberculosis is a disease caused by the mycobacteria tuberculosis. After inhaling the bacteria pass through droplets of saliva from an infected person and individual can develop the signs and symptoms of the disease. Evidence of tuberculosis has been found as far back as 2400 B.C. Scientists and researchers have been working towards prevention and cure for several decades. After finding the bacteria which was responsible for the disease they continue to work towards the developments of drugs which will effectively treat and eradicate the bacteria.
In recent years science has found a new link between individuals who suffer from diabetes mellitus and tuberculosis. Diabetes is characterized by abnormally high blood sugar levels because of insufficient amounts of insulin. Diabetes also affects an individual\’s immune system which may set them up to be a greater target for the tuberculosis bacteria.
The conclusion that individuals with diabetes are at greater risk for developing tuberculosis came from a study from the Harvard School of Public Health. The researchers identified 13 different studies over the past 40 years that had enough data to assess the relationship between individuals who had diabetes and those who also had tuberculosis. The aggregated data showed that a threefold increase in risk of developing active tuberculosis in individuals who also suffered from diabetes. (1)
Results of this study suggest that control programs aimed at the prevention of tuberculosis should consider targeting patients who have diabetes and that efforts to diagnose and detect diabetes can have a beneficial impact on the control of tuberculosis.
This increase in risk and odds of developing tuberculosis when an individual has diabetes is especially high in young people and in developing countries with a high background incidence of tuberculosis. However, there is no data which shows that individuals who first have tuberculosis are at greater risk of developing diabetes.
In another study published in the American Journal of Public Health researchers concluded after studying 5290 discharges from civilian hospitals in California that diabetes was a significant risk factor for tuberculosis in the United States and that the association was especially noted in middle-aged Hispanics. While other studies have linked diabetes and tuberculosis in a younger population this particular study linked diabetes with active tuberculosis in a middle-aged Hispanic population. (2)
In research from the University of Texas School of Public Health scientists have discovered three specific links between individuals with diabetes and those with a high risk of tuberculosis. When diabetes involves chronic high blood sugar is associated with an altered immune response to tuberculosis. Individuals with diabetes and tuberculosis will take longer to respond to the medications used to treat tuberculosis. Individuals with active tuberculosis and type 2 diabetes are more likely to have multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis then those individuals who have tuberculosis alone. (3)
The World Health Organization estimates that 180 million people worldwide have diabetes and that number is expected to double by the year 2030. Despite the goal of global eradication of tuberculosis by the year 2050, in 2004 there were an estimated 8.9 million new cases. The data seems to show that diabetes will interfere with the sterilization of pulmonary tuberculosis through drug therapy. Diabetes will have a negative impact on the control of tuberculosis in the coming years and more prospective studies are needed to define clearly the consequences for transmission between individuals who are experienced diabetes and prevention and therapeutic measures that can be used to lessen the effect.
In another study published in Chest researchers aim is to investigate the characteristics of the infection in diabetic patients hospitalized specifically at Bellevue Hospital. Bellevue Hospital is a 1200 bed inner-city hospital located on the lower East side of New York. Researchers final conclusions were that there were a significant association between individuals who suffer from diabetes and those who also had multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis. (4)
(1) Clinical Infectious Diseases: The Risk of Tuberculosis Disease Among Persons with Diabetes Mellitus
(2) American Journal of Public Health: The Role of Diabetes Mellitus in the Higher Prevalence of Tuberculosis
(3) University of Texas: UTHealth Researchers Find Diabetics at Higher Risk of Tuberculosis