High fasting blood sugar in diabetics increases risk of developing TB: JAMA

A group of researchers from Korea conducted a study to evaluate the association of diabetes status with the development of TB in the general population.

This population-based cohort study used data from the Korean National Health Insurance System database. Adult participants without a history of TB who underwent a health screening in 2009 were included. Eligible participants were followed up for incident TB cases from 1 year after the day of health screening until December 31, 2018. Data analysis was performed from September 2019 to September 2020.

Five levels of diabetes status were evaluated: normal glucose, impaired fasting blood sugar (considered as without diabetes), new-onset diabetes, diabetes duration less than 5 years, and diabetes duration 5 years or longer (considered as having diabetes).

The primary outcome was newly diagnosed tuberculosis.

The results of the study are as follows:

Among 4 423 177 participants, the mean (SD) age was 46.5 (13.9) years, and there were 2 597 142 men (58.7%).

A total of 26 458 participants (0.6%) received a diagnosis of TB within a median (interquartile range) of 8.3 (8.1-8.6) years of follow-up.

· An increased risk of TB was observed in participants with diabetes compared with those without diabetes.

· Although participants with impaired fasting glucose did not show an increased risk of TB incidence, the risk of TB incidence increased with diabetes duration.

· Among participants with new-onset diabetes, compared with those in the lowest decile the risk of TB was significantly increased for those in the highest decile.

Thus, the researchers concluded that these findings suggest that longer diabetes duration is associated with the development of TB, showing a dose-response association. Among participants with new-onset diabetes, incident TB was more common among those with Fasting blood sugar levels greater than or equal to 202 mg/dL.

Reference:

Diabetes Status and Association with Risk of Tuberculosis Among Korean Adults by Yoo J et. al published in the JAMA Network Open.

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