Low nutrient intake among adult women and patients with severe tuberculosis disease in Uganda: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Abstract Background Information regarding dietary nutrient intake during tuberculosis disease is lacking. We established the relationship between disease severity or wasting during pulmonary tuberculosis and nutrient intake. Methods In a cross-sectional study of 131 adults with or without pulmonary tuberculosis were screened for human immune-deficiency virus (HIV), wasting, disease severity using 13 item validated clinical TBscore, and 24-hour dietary intake recall. Results Of the 131 participants, 61 were males and 70 females. Overall men and women had similar age. In average 24-hour nutrient intake, the following nutrients: energy, protein, total fat, carbohydrate, calcium, vitamin A, and folate were low among patients with severe tuberculosis disease. Patients with moderate-to-severe clinical TBscore had lower average energy intake than patients with mild TBscores (6.11 vs. 9.27 MJ, respectively) (p Conclusions Findings suggest that severity of pulmonary tuberculosis and female gender had reduced nutrient intake. Early tuberculosis diagnosis and nutritional support may be important in management of tuberculosis patients.

Keywords

• Tuberculosis disease severity
• Gender
• Dietary intake
• Body wasting
• HIV