title: Cross-sectional assessment reveals high diabetes prevalence among newly-diagnosed tuberculosis cases.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To estimate the contribution of clinically-confirmed diabetes mellitus to tuberculosis (TB) rates in communities where both diseases are prevalent as a way to identify opportunities for TB prevention among diabetic patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  This is a prospective study in which TB patients ≥ 20 years old at TB clinics in the Texas-Mexico border were tested for diabetes. The risk of tuberculosis attributable to diabetes was estimated from statistics for the corresponding adult population.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of diabetes among TB patients was 39% in Texas and 36% in Mexico. Diabetes contributed 25% of the TB cases studied, whereas human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection contributed 5% or fewer. Among TB patients, fewer Mexicans than Texans were aware that they had diabetes before this study (4% and 19%, respectively). Men were also less frequently aware than women that they had diabetes (P = 0.03). Patients who knew that they had diabetes before the study had an 8-year history of the disease, on average, before being diagnosed with TB.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients with diabetes are at higher risk of contracting TB than non-diabetic patients. Integrating TB and diabetes control programmes worldwide would facilitate TB prevention among diabetes patients and increase the number of diabetics who learn of their condition, particularly among males. Such a strategy would lead to earlier case detection and improve the management of both TB and diabetes.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health in Brownsville, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Brownsville, 78520, USA. blanca.i.restrepo@uth.tmc.edu
authors.forename: Blanca I
authors.initials: BI
authors.lastname: Restrepo
authors.forename: Aulasa J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Camerlin
authors.forename: Mohammad H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Rahbar
authors.forename: Weiwei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Mary A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Restrepo
authors.forename: Izelda
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Zarate
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mora-Guzmán
authors.forename: Jesus G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Crespo-Solis
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Briggs
authors.forename: Joseph B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: McCormick
authors.forename: Susan P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Fisher-Hoch
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D048909:Diabetes Complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013781:Texas / Q000453:epidemiology; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology*