[Nutritional risk in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis: the patient's or the health services' problem?].
OBJECTIVE
To determine nutritional risk factors in a population of patients with pulmonary tuberculosis (PT).


METHODS
During 1997, one-hundred and eighty-five patients with PT were chosen at random from two health institutions in Monterrey, Nuevo León, México. Variables analyzed were: anthropometric measures, socioeconomic status, utilization of the nutrition clinic, access to foodstuffs, adverse reactions to drugs, and disease attributable to malnutrition. Statistical analysis consisted of descriptive, bivariate, and multivariate logistic regression, in addition to prevalence ratios and 95% confidence intervals.


RESULTS
The mean age was 42.4 +/- 19.9 years. The mean body mass index was 19.8 +/- 3.2; 57% of patients presented malnutrition; 26% of them were referred to the nutrition clinic, 24.3% of whom actually attended it. Multivariate analysis showed that adverse reactions of tuberculosis drugs were risk factors for malnutrition, independent of age, gender, education, occupation, year of diagnosis and access to foodstuffs, disease attributable, and utilization of the nutrition clinic. (chi 2 = 10.58; p = 0.051, R2 = 0.42).


CONCLUSIONS
Nutritional risk in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis is both a patient and a health services issue. The high prevalence of malnutrition, the low utilization rate of nutritional services, and the effect of adverse reactions to therapeutic drugs, justify the need to focus attention on this particular group of patients.
Núñez-Rocha
G M
GM
Unidad Regional de Investigación Epidemiológica, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Monterrey, Nuevo León, México. imssnorteinv@infosel.net.mx
Salinas-Martínez
A M
AM
Villarreal-Ríos
E
E
Garza-Elizondo
M E
ME
González-Rodríguez
F
F
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009748:Nutrition Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000150:complications*