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Nutritional Counselling and Supplementation: Need of the hour in National TB control programme in India
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Background: The magnitude of malnutrition is high in India, which easily predisposes the individuals to risk of developing TB and Tuberculosis in turn further aggravates wasting. This vicious cycle results in high morbidity and mortality. Anti TB drug causes nausea, vomiting, poor appetite that further knocks down dietary intake considerably. Aim: The aim of the present study is to highlight the importance of nutrition in TB patients by assessing the percentage of underweight TB patients and caloric intake using the 24 hour recall method. Methods and Material: The study was conducted in the urban slum area of Mumbai, covering a population of approximately 72000. Fifty consecutive TB patients who came to DOTS centre were interviewed to assess the dietary intake. Pre-Treatment weight was compared with the standard reference weights of Indian Council of Medical Research‟s (ICMR). The caloric intake was calculated as percentage of recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for specific age and occupation as per ICMR standards. Results: Tuberculosis patients interviewed were predominantly females (54%) and in the age group of 20-29 years (42%). The mean age of the patients was 28.56 ±1.79yrs. Except for two females, all the TB patients were underweight. The mean weight of the TB patients was 36.82 kilograms. Almost all the TB patients were consuming less than 50% of RDA. Conclusions: Poor nutritional status predisposes the individual to tuberculosis. It is important therefore that the health care workers while giving priority to drug compliance should not forget to counsel on balanced diet and developing linkages with NGO‟s to provide food supplementation for filling in the dietary gap, in an effort to improve the nutritional status.