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
. 2017 Jul 1;21(7):804-809.
doi: 10.5588/ijtld.17.0038.

Depression and risk of tuberculosis: a nationwide population-based cohort study

K H Oh  1 , H Choi  2 , E J Kim  3 , H J Kim  2 , S I Cho  3
Affiliations

Depression and risk of tuberculosis: a nationwide population-based cohort study

K H Oh et al. Int J Tuberc Lung Dis. .

Abstract

Background: Studies on the association between depression and risk of tuberculosis (TB) are lacking.

Objective: To determine the association between depression and risk of TB.

Methods: From a nationwide database, patients with depression were identified to form the exposure cohort between 2003 and 2013. The control cohort comprised an equivalent number of subjects without any mood disorders, with each subject age- and sex-matched to a patient in the exposure cohort. The incidence of TB was identified in the exposure cohort and control cohort between 2003 and 2013. A multivariable Cox proportional hazards model was used to estimate the association between depression and the subsequent risk of TB.

Results: A total of 32 372 patients with depression and the same number of controls were identified. The risk of TB in the depression cohort was 2.63-fold (95%CI 1.74-3.96) higher than in the control cohort. When the depression was classified as 'mild' and 'severe', the risk of TB was proportional to depression severity.

Conclusions: Patients with depression are at a higher risk for TB, and a dose-response relationship exists between depression and the subsequent risk of TB.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in

  • Depression and risk of tuberculosis.
    Zellweger JP. Zellweger JP. Int J Tuberc Lung Dis. 2017 Dec 1;21(12):1314. doi: 10.5588/ijtld.17.0436. Int J Tuberc Lung Dis. 2017. PMID: 29297453 No abstract available.
  • In Reply.
    Oh KH, Choi H, Kim HJ. Oh KH, et al. Int J Tuberc Lung Dis. 2017 Dec 1;21(12):1314-1315. doi: 10.5588/ijtld.17.0436-2. Int J Tuberc Lung Dis. 2017. PMID: 29297454 No abstract available.

LinkOut - more resources