Smoking increases the risk of relapse after successful tuberculosis treatment.
d'Arc Lyra Batista, Joanna;
de Fátima Pessoa Militão de Albuquerque, Maria;
de Alencar Ximenes, Ricardo Arraes;
Rodrigues, Laura Cunha;
(2008)
Smoking increases the risk of relapse after successful tuberculosis treatment.
International journal of epidemiology, 37 (4).
pp. 841-851.
ISSN 0300-5771
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyn113
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BACKGROUND: Recent tobacco smoking has been identified as a risk factor for developing tuberculosis, and two studies which have investigated its association with relapse of tuberculosis after completion of treatment had conflicting results (and did not control for confounding). The objective of this study was to investigate risk factors for tuberculosis relapse, with emphasis on smoking. METHODS: A cohort of newly diagnosed TB cases was followed up from their discharge after completion of treatment (in 2001-2003) until October 2006 and relapses of tuberculosis ascertained during that period. A case of relapse was defined as a patient who started a second treatment during the follow up. RESULTS: Smoking (OR 2.53, 95% CI 1.23-5.21) and living in an area where the family health program was not implemented (OR 3.61, 95% CI 1.46-8.93) were found to be independently associated with relapse of tuberculosis. CONCLUSIONS: Our results establish that smoking is associated with relapse of tuberculosis even after adjustment for the socioeconomic variables. Smoking cessation support should be incorporated in the strategies to improve effectiveness of Tuberculosis Control Programs.