Diabetes Raises TB Risk
Reported July 15, 2008
(Ivanhoe Newswire) People with diabetes are at an increased risk of developing active tuberculosis, according to a recent analysis.
A study involving 40 years of information shows people with diabetes are three times more likely to develop active tuberculosis. Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health did the analysis of the studies. It included 13 studies and 1.7 million people around the world.
The increased risk shows diabetes could be responsible for ten percent of the tuberculosis deaths in India and China. If the findings are the same in other countries, researchers say special attention should be directed toward people with diabetes when identifying and treating latent tuberculosis.
SOURCE: PLoS Medicine