The pattern of comorbidity and its prevalence among drug-resistant tuberculosis patients at treatment initiation in Lagos, Nigeria

BACKGROUND: Multimorbidity is increasingly being recognized as a serious public health concern in the control of both drug-susceptible and drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB). This study assessed the pattern of comorbidities and their prevalence in DR-TB patients at treatment initiation in Lagos, Nigeria. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted. The baseline laboratory records (human immunodeficiency virus [HIV] status, fasting blood sugar, audiometry, thyroid function tests, serum electrolyte, haemoglobin level and pregnancy test) of DR-TB patients initiated on treatment in Lagos, Nigeria between 1 August 2014 and 31 March 2017 were reviewed. RESULTS: A total of 565 DR-TB patients' laboratory records were reviewed, of which 397 (70.3%) had comorbidities. The proportion with one, two, three and four comorbidities was 60.2%, 29.7%, 8.1% and 2.0%, respectively. Anaemia was the most common (48.1%) comorbid condition, while anaemia and hypokalaemia (7.3%), anaemia and hypothyroidism (6.5%) and anaemia and HIV (5%) were most common among patients with more than one comorbid condition. DR-TB patients with comorbidity were significantly older (34.8+/-12.3 y) than those without comorbidity (32.0+/-12.8 y) (p=0.038). Of the 176 females in the reproductive age group, 8 (4.5%) were pregnant at baseline. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of comorbidity among DR-TB patients was high. There is a need for the national TB program to expand its DR-TB council of experts and also integrate reproductive health services into DR-TB management in Nigeria.