STM Article Repository

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) has been known to be one of the most frequent underlying causes of wasting worldwide and this has however remained poorly studied and understood.

Methods: Pattern of weight gain during tuberculosis treatment in Ekpene Obom, Nigeria was assessed between January 2012 and December 2014. The 389 patients, who attended the TB clinic within this period, made up of 171(44%) males and 218(56%) females were used in this study.

Results: Patients had an average weight of 44.5kg at the time their infection was diagnosed. The percentage weight increment within this period was 12.1%. Yearly sex-specific percentage weight increment in 2012, 2013 and 2014 respectively for the males were 12.4%, 11.4% and 11.9% while it was 12.5%, 11.6% and 12.7% for the females within the same period. Similarly, within specific age groups, it also revealed an increment of 11.8%, 16.0%, 14.7%, 13.4%, 10.8% and 10.6% for 11-20 years, 21-30 years, 31-40 years, 41-50 years, 51-60 years and 61-70 years respectively. The females were seen to have higher body weights than the males.

Conclusion: This study has shown that clinical recovery does not guarantee immediate restoration of body weight and also confirms weight gain to be an unreliable indicator of overall treatment response in anti-tuberculosis therapy.