Publication Details

AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS

SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH

High prevalence of TB multimorbidity among adults of a tertiary hospital in Sierra Leone: a cross-sectional study

BMC Research Notes, Volume 16, No. 1, Article 337, Year 2023

Objective: Tuberculosis (TB) is a leading cause of death globally, with approximately 1.5 million deaths in 2020. TB often coexists with chronic communicable and non-communicable diseases, but data to determine the extent of comorbid diseases are limited. In this study, we aimed to assess the prevalence of TB multimorbidity and its risk factors in a tertiary hospital in Sierra Leone. This is a cross-sectional study of 240 adults with microbiologically-confirmed TB at Connaught Hospital in Freetown, between March and May 2022. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with TB multimorbidity. Results: The mean age of the patients was 37 years. More than two-thirds were males and about the same number had two or more chronic diseases. The most common were hypertension (47.9%) and diabetes (24.2%). Patients under 35 years of age were less likely to have TB multimorbidity (< 25 years: adjusted OR 0.07, 95%CI 0.01–0.6; 25–34 years: adjusted OR 0.2, 95%CI 0.01–0.9). We report a high prevalence of comorbid diseases among TB patients in the largest treatment center in Sierra Leone, with hypertension and diabetes being the most common. These findings support the current call for addressing comorbid non-communicable diseases in TB patients through integrated care. © 2023, The Author(s).
Statistics
Authors: 11
Affiliations: 13
Identifiers
Research Areas
Health System And Policy
Infectious Diseases
Noncommunicable Diseases
Study Design
Cross Sectional Study
Study Approach
Quantitative
Study Locations
Sierra Leone