Impact of Lifestyle Change Intervention on Tuberculosis Treatment Outcome in Tuberculosis Patients with Diabetes Mellitus Comorbidity in South West Nigeria

Abstract

It is well documented in the literature that there is poor treatment outcome in patients with Tuberculosis and Diabetes (TBDM) comorbidity due to the observed interference of drugs for Tuberculosis (TB) treatment on anti-diabetic drugs and elevated glucose level reduces the efficacy of anti-tuberculosis drugs leading to poor TB treatment outcome, and that insulin therapy is not affected by this drug interaction. Importantly, access to Insulin is a challenge due to its prohibitive out-of-pocket cost. The only alternative sustainable treatment for TBDM patients in resource-limited communities is lifestyle-based intervention. This study evaluated the impact of lifestyle intervention on TB treatment outcomes in patients with TBDM comorbidity. This study is a quasi-experimental intervention involving two cohorts of 25 TBDM patients each, as control and experimental cohorts. Their enrolment was from Tuberculosis patients from health facilities in Lagos and Oyo states. The questionnaires were administered before the commencement of the Intervention and at 8 weeks. The sputum Acid Fast Bacillus (AFB) was checked, and chest x-ray (CXR) done before Intervention and Sputum AFB at 8 weeks. The Control group showed no difference in the means of the sputum AFB 95%CI: 0.12(-0.12 – 0.36; p>0.05), which was an indication of poor treatment outcome. The difference in the means of the sputum AFB in the intervention group was statistically significant 95%CI:-0.8(-0.9--0.6; p<0.05). The intervention with educational and behavioral lifestyle modifications significantly improved the outcome of treatment of TB in TBDM comorbidity.