Health-related quality of life among tuberculosis patients under Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme in rural and urban Puducherry.
Globally, tuberculosis (TB) continues to be the major public health problem. Limited research is carried out on the impact of the disease on health-related quality of life (HR-QoL). The study aims to assess the HR-QoL among TB patients during and after Directly Observed Treatment Short-course (DOTS) therapy and to compare the HR-QoL of these patients with matched neighbourhood controls.



A community-based longitudinal study was conducted in Ariyankuppam and Bahour communes of Puducherry from January 2014 to April 2015. 92 TB patients registered for DOTS therapy during January-June 2014 were interviewed in their DOTS centres during first visit using the SF-36 questionnaire to assess their HR-QoL. During the second visit, 9 TB patients were lost to follow-up; therefore, a total of 83 patients were interviewed in their houses and, simultaneously, 83 matched neighbourhood controls were interviewed. Non-parametric tests were used to compare the HR-QoL scores. p value <0.05 was considered as statistically significant.



The mean HR-QoL scores had improved among TB patients upon completion of DOTS (80.8±20.3), when compared to HR-QoL scores (48.3±30) during treatment with significant difference. The HR-QoL scores of TB patients after DOTS completion (80.8±20.3) had improved to levels comparable to that of non-TB controls (77.5±29.1) without significant difference.



HR-QoL of patients suffering from TB was low. However, the study provides evidence that DOTS treatment offers a demonstrable improvement of HR-QoL among TB patients almost to the level of general population. The findings can be used in advocating the effectiveness of DOTS in TB control efforts.
Department of Community Medicine, Vinayaka Mission Medical College & Hospital, Karaikal, Pondicherry, India. Electronic address: drramkumar@gmail.com.
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Ramkumar
Department of Community Medicine, Vinayaka Mission Medical College & Hospital, Karaikal, Pondicherry, India.
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Vijayalakshmi
Department of Community Medicine, Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute, Pondicherry, India.
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Seetharaman
Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute, Pondicherry, India.
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Pajanivel
Department of Community Medicine, Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute, Pondicherry, India.
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Lokeshmaran
D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003153:Community Health Services / Q000592:standards*; D023801:Directly Observed Therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009313:National Health Programs; D011788:Quality of Life; D012424:Rural Population; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology; D014505:Urban Population
DOTS; Follow-up; HR-QoL; SF-36; Tuberculosis