Association of common mental disorders with pulmonary tuberculosis: A cross-sectional study

Objectives: Tuberculosis (TB) and mental illness share few similar factors, for example, poverty, malnutrition, and stress. Our objective was to determine the association of TB among mentally ill patients. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at a tertiary care center located in rural area. All patients having respiratory symptoms were screened for TB, and the patients diagnosed with TB were taken as subjects and those who did not tested positive for TB were taken as controls. Sociodemographic proforma and Self Report Questionnaire (SRQ-20) were used as study tools. Result: Presence of pulmonary TB was treated as outcome (dependent variable) while common mental disorders (CMD) as independent variable; both were categorized as present or absent. We found statistically significant (P = 0.005) association between overall CMDs and TB (OR: 2.16, 95% CI 1.32–3.55). Conclusion: TB among mentally ill patients is very high, and we recommend that TB care and prevention services be integrated into mental health centers.