Prevalence and risk factors for diabetes mellitus among tuberculosis patients in Moshi Municipal Council, Kilimanjaro Tanzania

BACKGROUND: Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a worldwide public health problem and its prevalence has been rising rapidly in low and middle income countries (LMICs) including Tanzania. According to WHO report 2015, DM is ranked number six as a leading cause of death worldwide. Strong evidence suggests that DM may be associated with Tuberculosis (TB) and could affect TB treatment outcomes. Tanzania is among the 22 countries that have a high burden of TB and currently facing increased epidemic of DM. The increasing diabetes prevalence may be a threat to TB control and counteract strategies to end TB by 2030 as proposed by WHO. OBJECTIVE: To determine proportion of TB patients who are co-infected with DM in Moshi municipal council, Kilimanjaro Tanzania. METHODOLOGY: This study was a hospital based cross-sectional study conducted in April to July 2018 at 4 health facilities; Mawenzi Regional Referral hospital, St. Joseph District Designated hospital, Pasua Health center and Majengo Health centre in Moshi municipal. The study included adults aged 18 years and above attending either of the 4 health facilities for TB care. The study included newly diagnosed and those who were on TB treatment. Interviews were conducted followed by blood glucose testing. Data was entered and analysed using SPSS RESULTS: A total of 153 TB patients were enrolled, their mean age was 42.5 (±14.75) years and 46 (30.1%) were females. The prevalence of DM among TB patients in this study was 9.2%. Factors associated with TB-DM comorbidity were: age (OR 4.43, 95% CI: 1.18–16.55), HIV status (OR 3.88, 95% CI: 1.06–14.11), and family history of DM (OR 6.50, 95% CI 0.67–25.56). CONCLUSION: One in ten patients with TB had confirmed DM. There is a need for future studies to assess if DM influences TB treatment and outcomes in this setting.