Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2011 Jul;38(1):139-46.
doi: 10.1183/09031936.00137710. Epub 2010 Dec 9.

High prevalence of smoking among patients with suspected tuberculosis in South Africa

L Brunet  1 , M Pai, V Davids, D Ling, G Paradis, L Lenders, R Meldau, R van Zyl Smit, G Calligaro, B Allwood, R Dawson, K Dheda
Affiliations

High prevalence of smoking among patients with suspected tuberculosis in South Africa

L Brunet et al. Eur Respir J. 2011 Jul.

Abstract

There is growing evidence that tobacco smoking is an important risk factor for tuberculosis (TB). There are no data validating the accuracy of self-reported smoking in TB patients and limited data about the prevalence of smoking in TB patients from high-burden settings. We performed a cross-sectional analysis of 500 patients with suspected TB in Cape Town, South Africa. All underwent comprehensive diagnostic testing. The accuracy of their self-reported smoking status was determined against serum cotinine levels. Of the 424 patients included in the study, 56 and 60% of those with active and latent TB infection (LTBI), respectively, were current smokers. Using plasma cotinine as a reference standard, the sensitivity of self-reported smoking was 89%. No statistically significant association could be found between smoking and active TB or LTBI. In Cape Town, the prevalence of smoking among patients with suspected and confirmed TB was much higher than in the general South African population. Self-reporting is an accurate measure of smoking status. These results suggest the need to actively incorporate tobacco cessation programmes into TB services in South Africa.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

STATEMENT OF INTEREST

None declared.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Prevalence of smoking among patients with suspected tuberculosis (TB). LTBI: latent TB infection.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. World Health Organization. Global Tuberculosis Control — A short update to the 2009 report. Geneva: WHO; 2009.
    1. Verver S, Warren RM, Beyers N, et al. Rate of reinfection tuberculosis after successful treatment is higher than rate of new tuberculosis. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2005;171:1430–1435. - PubMed
    1. Jha P, Chaloupka FJ, Corrao M, et al. Reducing the burden of smoking world-wide: effectiveness of interventions and their coverage. Drug Alcohol Rev. 2006;25:597–609. - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization. Why is tobacco a public health priority? 2009 www.who.int/tobacco/health_priority/en/index.html Date last accessed: October 27, 2009; Date last updated: 2009.
    1. World Health Organization. The World Health Report 2002: Reducing Risks, Promoting Healthy Life. Geneva: WHO; 2002. pp. 1–248.

Publication types