Tuberculosis Pathogenesis: Tobacco Smoking Increases Risk in Indian Men
January 29, 2003
Indian researchers warn that tobacco smoking dramatically increases the risk of tuberculosis. C. Kolappan and colleagues at the Tuberculosis Research Center in Chennai and the Indian Council of Medical Research in New Delhi found evidence linking cigarette smoking to heightened TB risk. The report states that the prevalence of TB in adult men in India is two to four times higher than in women. Cigarette smoking in India is primarily a male habit.Adapted from:
The investigators examined the association between smoking habits and TB risk among male TB patients and healthy controls in the Tiruvallur district of Tamil Nadu. Cigarette-smoking men, they found, were almost two-and-a-half times more likely to contract pulmonary TB.
Furthermore, the researchers found that heavy smokers were more likely to develop TB than men who smoked less. Those who smoked 10 or fewer cigarettes a day, the report states, had a TB risk 1.75-fold greater than nonsmokers. Those who smoked more than 20 cigarettes a day saw their risk increase 3.68 times, according to study data. The authors also found similar correlations between the duration of smoking habits and TB risk. Kolappan and colleagues reported their findings in "Tobacco Smoking and Pulmonary Tuberculosis," published in Thorax (2002; 57(11):964-966).
"There is a positive association between tobacco smoking and pulmonary (bacillary) tuberculosis," the authors concluded. "The association also shows a strong dose-response relationship."
TB & Outbreaks Weekly
01.14.03; Michael Greer
This article was provided by CDC National Prevention Information Network. It is a part of the publication CDC HIV/Hepatitis/STD/TB Prevention News Update.