Background: Pulmonary and extrapulmonary tuberculosis is an emerging public health challenge among diabetic (DM) patients. Diabetes is a known cause of immunosuppression and is recognized as an independent risk factor for tuberculosis (TB). Diabetes and tuberculosis frequently coexist and influence each other [1]. This study investigates diabetes mellitus as a risk factor for developing pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) compared to extra-pulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB). Materials and Methods: This retrospective cohort study included all culture-confirmed, and PCR-positive TB patients (PTB 522 and EPTB 173) reported to King Abdul Aziz University Hospital, Jeddah, between January 2012 to January 2021. The categorical baseline characteristic of PTB and EPTB patients has been compared with DM status using Pearson chi-square and Fisher's exact test. The univariable and multivariable logistic regression model was used to estimate the association between DM and different sites of TB (PTB and EPTB). Results: Of 695 diagnosed TB patients, 215 (30.94%) are diabetic. The percentage of PTB is (75.11%), and EPTB is (24.89%) as a risk factor; DM shows a significant association with PTB in both univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis. Age, smoking status, dyslipidemia, and other comorbidities are also significantly associated with PTB (P value <0.05). Conclusion: In this study, we found a high rate of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) among diabetic patients. Proper management of DM and TB infection might increase TB control and prevent PTB and EPTB development in the Saudi population.

Background: The association between tuberculosis (TB) and diabetes mellitus (DM) is re-emerging with the epidemic of type II diabetes. Both TB and DM were of the top 10 causes of death.[1] This study explores diabetes mellitus as a risk factor for developing the different antitubercular drug-resistant (DR) patterns among TB patients.  Methods: A retrospective cohort study has been conducted on all TB cases reported to the King Abdul Aziz University Hospital, Jeddah, between January 2012 to January 2021. All culture-confirmed and PCR-positive TB cases were included in this study. Categorical baseline characteristic of TB patient has been compared with DM status by using Fisher's exact and Pearson chi-square test. The univariable and multivariable logistic regression model was used to estimate the association between DM and different drug resistance patterns.  Results: Of the total 695 diagnosed TB patients, 92 (13.24%) are resistant to 1st line anti TB drugs. Among 92 DR-TB patients, 36 (39.13%) are diabetic. The percentage of different patterns of DR-TB with DM, in the case of mono DR (12.09%), poly DR (4.19%) MDR (0.547%). As a risk factor, DM has a significant association with DR-TB, mono drug-resistant, and pyrazinamide-resistant TB (P-value <0.05). The MDR and PDR separately do not show any significant association with DM, but for further analysis, it shows a significant association with DM when we combined.  Conclusion: Our study identified diabetes mellitus as a risk factor for developing DR-TB. Better management of DM and TB infection caring programs among DM patients might improve TB control and prevent DR-TB development in KSA.

Introduction: Among multiple hematological changes, anemia is one of the most common hematological problems in patients with tuberculosis (TB). [1] Many studies were conducted in different countries and reported various results [1-2]. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted on all TB-positive cases reported to the King Abdulaziz University Hospital (KAUH) between January 2012 and January 2021. Detailed demographic and biomedical data were collected from the hospital record section. All culture-confirmed and PCR-positive tuberculosis (TB) cases were included in this study. Categorical baseline characteristics of TB patient has been compared with the anemic status by Fisher's exact and Pearson’s chi-square test. Continuous variables like hematological parameters compared with anemia by t-test. The univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were done to estimate the association between TB positive cases and the anemic status of the patient. Results: Out of 695 TB-positive cases, 443 (63.74%) are anemic. Among these anemic patients, most are less than 39 years old; 228 (51.47%), clearly males outnumbered the number females. Approximately 289 (65.24%) are non-Saudi. A majority of the patient, 163 (54.40%), had a BMI range of 18.5 – 24.9. A significant difference had been noticed in the anemic and non-anemic patients in variables like gender, BMI, nationality, and site of TB. In the case of anti-TB drug-resistant cases, the percentages of mild, moderate, and severe anemia are 12.21%, 12.20%, and 13.64%. This study did not find any significant association between DR-TB and anemia. Conclusion: The prevalence of anemia among TB patients was high. Thus, it warrants frequent screening for anemia in all TB-positive cases to improve mortality and morbidity in these patients.