title: Low nutrient intake among adult women and patients with severe tuberculosis disease in Uganda: a cross-sectional study.
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<0.05). The average 24-hour nutrient intakes between wasted and non-wasted tuberculosis patients were comparable. Nutrient intake among men was higher when compared to women regardless of wasting and severity of tuberculosis. Among those with wasting, men had higher average energy intake than women (8.87 vs. 5.81 MJ, respectively) (p<0.05). Among patients with mild disease, men had higher average energy intake than women with mild disease (12.83 vs. 7.49 kcal, respectively) (p<0.001).
  
  
  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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics & Child Health School of Medicine College of Health Sciences, Makerere University Kampala, Kampala, Uganda. mupez@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Ezekiel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mupere
authors.forename: Isabel M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Parraga
authors.forename: Daniel J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Tisch
authors.forename: Harriet K
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Mayanja
authors.forename: Christopher C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Whalen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D002149:Energy Intake / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D014454:Uganda; D019282:Wasting Syndrome / Q000209:etiology