TB likely to recur in smokers - study

Cape Town - 100512 - Faiza Saliem who has been smoking for the last 40 years doesn't think she will quit smoking even though the MJC have decided that cigarettes are not halaal. Photo: Matthew Jordaan

Cape Town - 100512 - Faiza Saliem who has been smoking for the last 40 years doesn't think she will quit smoking even though the MJC have decided that cigarettes are not halaal. Photo: Matthew Jordaan

Published Apr 1, 2014

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Cape Town - Smokers who have a history of tuberculosis are more likely to develop the disease again, even when successfully treated the first time, compared to non-smokers, a new international study has found.

The study, published in the International Journal of TB and Lung Disease , not only provided new insight on the harmful links between tobacco use and TB, but was also likely to influence national tobacco control policies in countries overburdened with TB.

South Africa is one such country, with one of the highest rates of TB – 500 000 new cases every year. Out of the half a million cases, more than 15 000 were infected with multidrug-resistant (MDR) TB.

Of the 15 000, nearly eight percent were resistant to the second-line drugs and had extensively drug-resistant (XDR) TB, which only has a 13 percent cure rate in South Africa.

The study was conducted in Taiwan.

 

Of more than 5 500 adults who were successfully treated for TB in the country, about 1.5 percent had a recurrence of the disease within the first three years of follow-up.

Compared to former smokers and those who never smoked, the incidence of TB recurrence was significantly higher among people who smoked.

For those who smoked about 10 cigarettes or more a day, the risk of TB recurrence doubled compared to former smokers and those who had never smoked.

 

TB recurrence was seen more among males, and among the homeless. Researchers suspected that social issues that affect the homeless, such as malnutrition, delayed diagnosis and poor adherence to TB treatment, might have put them at increased risk of repeated episodes of TB.

Lead researcher of the study, Dr Chung-Yeh Deng of National Yang-Ming in Taipei, Taiwan, described the study as the most robust ever conducted in how smoking increased the risk of recurrent TB.

“More than ever before, we understand how tobacco harms people who have already been successfully treated for TB. No one should undergo the long, complex treatment for TB only to unknowingly place themselves at heightened risk of getting the disease again,” he said.

The study was expected to inform anti-tobacco policies and educate patients about the risks that smoking posed. - Cape Argus

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