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Review
. 2019 Mar 7;6(4):ofz102.
doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofz102. eCollection 2019 Apr.

More Than Malnutrition: A Review of the Relationship Between Food Insecurity and Tuberculosis

Ingabire G Balinda  1 , Diarmuid D Sugrue  2 , Louise C Ivers  1   3
Affiliations
Review

More Than Malnutrition: A Review of the Relationship Between Food Insecurity and Tuberculosis

Ingabire G Balinda et al. Open Forum Infect Dis. .

Abstract

Despite a significant reduction in tuberculosis (TB) mortality over the past decade, TB remains a leading cause of death worldwide. Food insecurity-through pathways such as malnutrition, mental health impact, and high-risk health behaviors-affects the risk of TB disease, treatment failure, and mortality. We searched the literature for studies reporting on the links between food insecurity and TB. In contrast to the well-documented interactions between food insecurity and HIV/AIDS, we found that the association between food insecurity and TB remains largely understudied-this is especially true with regard to non-nutritional correlations. Mental health and behavioral linkages between TB and food insecurity deserve further attention. An improved understanding of the pathways through which food insecurity impacts TB is crucial to inform evidence-based integration of interventions such as psychological counseling, psychiatric care, harm reduction programs, and efforts to address social determinants of disease within current TB programs.

Keywords: food insecurity; high-risk behavior; malnutrition; mental health; tuberculosis.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Literature search strategy and overview of results.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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