Results of tuberculosis screening in people with diabetes in Ulaanbaatar city

Abstract

Background: In Mongolia, 150.8 thousand people with diabetes were registered in 2021. The World Health Organization estimates that 10 million new cases of tuberculosis occur each year. According to the 2021 report in Mongolia, 2709 new and recurrent cases of tuberculosis were registered, 62.1% of which were registered in Ulaanbaatar. According to a 2020 study, the prevalence of diabetes among tuberculosis patients was 7.9% in Ulaanbaatar. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study conducted between November 2022 and January 2023, including people with diabetes registered in the endocrinology units of Khan-Uul and Chingeltei districts in Ulaanbaatar. In accordance with the Order No. A30 of Ministry of Health or Tuberculosis Care and Services Guidelines, the diagnosis was confirmed by collecting samples from cases with suspicious symptoms of tuberculosis and abnormal changes in chest X-ray examination by smear, Xpert MTB/RIF, and culture. Results: A total of 396 subjects with diabetes participated in the study, the mean age was 56.4±12.1 years and 56.9% (n=149) were male, the duration of diabetes was 8.6 years (0-34). 2.0% of the respondents had tuberculosis with diabetes. The percentage of people who had suspected TB cases by questionnaire and chest X-ray was 7.8% of the total study population, and 6.5% were confirmed by laboratory tests. The mean age of diabetic people with tuberculosis was 67.5±14.7 years, or significantly older with statistical significance (age 56.2±11.9 years among people without tuberculosis). 62.5% of TB positives were male and 50% smokers, which was higher than non-TB positives, although this was not significant. Conclusions: Among people with diabetes, the prevalence of tuberculosis was 1.5% and the suspected tuberculosis cases was 7.8%. The mean age of people with diabetes with tuberculosis was significantly different from that of people without tuberculosis (p<0.001).