Study 2 - Cigarette smoking as a risk factor for tuberculosis Setting: The association between smoking and pulmonary tuberculosis has not often been studied.
Objective: To assess the influence of cigarette smoking on the development of active pulmonary tuberculosis in young people who were close contacts of new cases of smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis.
Design: A comparison of 46 patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis and 46 patients with positive tuberculin tests but no active tuberculosis. Smoking habits were investigated using a questionnaire. Analysis was performed and odds ratios adjusted for age, gender, and socio-economic status.
Results: Statistically significant differences were found in active smokers (OR 3.7, 95%CI 1.5 to 9.2). There was a dose-response relationship between the number of cigarettes smoked daily and the risk of active pulmonary tuberculosis.
Conclusions: The data studies show that cigarette smoking is a risk factor for pulmonary tuberculosis in young people.
