Malnutrition among tuberculosis patients in Harrow, England
Onwubalili, J.K.
European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 42(4): 363-366
1988
ISSN/ISBN: 0954-3007 PMID: 3396528 Document Number: 323033
Nutritional assessment was performed on 30 patients 19 to 61 years old with active tuberculosis. Nutritional measurements were related to the duration and extent of disease, and also compared with those obtained in healthy age-, sex- and ethnic-matched controls before and during treatment of patients. Tuberculosis patients had significant reductions in body mass index (weight/heightsuperscript 2), triceps skin-fold thickness, arm muscle circumference, serum albumin, iron and total iron-binding capacity. Chemotherapy was associated with progressive nutritional recovery and restoration of nutrition-related indices. However, mean arm muscle circumference and serum albumin values of the patients remained subnormal at 12 months, suggesting that body protein reserves may not be fully repleted during treatment. Active tuberculosis is associated with profound protein-energy undernutrition which improves during treatment.