Tuberculosis is frequently diagnosed within 12 months of diabetes mellitus

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Evidence regarding the effects of tuberculosis (TB) screening among patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) in intermediate TB burden countries is insufficient, and the most appropriate time point for TB screening is unclear.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate trends in TB incidence among newly diagnosed DM patients.

DESIGN: A retrospective cohort study of the claims database of the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service in Korea was performed. Participants were newly diagnosed with type 2 DM in 2009. The study outcome was TB incidence between 2009 and 2011 among participants according to duration of type 2 DM.

RESULTS: A cohort of 331,601 patients with newly diagnosed type 2 DM in 2009 was identified. During the 3-year follow-up period, 1533 patients were diagnosed with TB. The estimated incidence of TB among newly diagnosed type 2 DM patients was 18/10,000 patient-years (py) (95%CI 17.5-19.4). TB incidence was 33/10,000 py (95%CI 30.0-35.6) in the first 6 months, and 19/10,000 py (95%CI 16.5-20.6) in the following 6-month period.

CONCLUSIONS: The risk of developing TB was increased among DM patients, particularly during the first 12 months after DM diagnosis.