Demographic/socioeconomic factors in mental disorders associated with tuberculosis in southwest Nigeria

In spite of the high prevalence of tuberculosis worldwide, there are few studies on its psychiatric complications. The mental state of 53 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis seen in a Nigerian chest clinic was examined using the 30-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-30), the Present State Examination (PSE), and a clinical evaluation based on the International Classification of Disease, tenth edition (ICD-10). Results were compared with two comparison groups: (1) a group of 20 long-stay orthopedic patients with lower limb fractures; and (2) a group of 20 apparently healthy controls. The sociodemographic characteristics of the groups were also compared. A significantly higher prevalence of psychiatric disorders was found in the tuberculosis group (30.2%) than in the orthopedic group (15%) and the apparently healthy controls (5%). The types of psychiatric disorders encountered included mild depressive episode, generalized anxiety disorder, and adjustment disorder (ICD-10). Psychiatric morbidity was higher in tuberculosis patients with low educational attainment, and did not show a statistically significant relationship with other sociodemographic parameters. Ways of improving the mental health of tuberculosis patients are discussed.