Food insecurity in South Indian households with TB during COVID-19 lockdowns and the impact of nutritional interventions: A qualitative study.

Tuberculosis (TB) mortality rose during the COVID-19 pandemic, as did food insecurity worldwide. Undernourished individuals are at increased risk for incident TB disease and TB mortality. This study examines the impact of COVID lockdowns on the food security of households with TB in Southern India.

A roadmap for integrating nutritional assessment, counselling, and support into the care of people with tuberculosis.

Undernutrition-the leading risk factor for tuberculosis worldwide-is associated with impaired immunity, more extensive disease, delayed sputum conversion, and worse treatment outcomes, including mortality. In this Health Policy, we propose a comprehensive roadmap for integrating nutritional assessment, counselling, and support into tuberculosis treatment as part of person-centred care. At treatment initiation, we recommend standard nutritional assessment with anthropometric measurements and haemoglobin estimation, in addition to macronutrient and micronutrient support alongside nutritional counselling.

Care for adolescents with drug-susceptible pulmonary tuberculosis in Lima, Peru: a qualitative assessment.

Objective: To identify the barriers and facilitators of adolescent-friendly tuberculosis (TB) services among adolescents with drug-susceptible TB (DS-TB), as defined by the WHO's Adolescent-Friendly Services (AFS) framework, in Lima, Peru.

Design: We conducted in-depth interviews using semistructured interview guides. Data were analysed using the framework method, in which themes were mapped onto four of the five dimensions of care in the WHO's AFS framework: accessibility, acceptability, appropriateness and effectiveness.

Enriching tuberculosis research by measuring poverty better: a perspective.

The relationship between poverty and tuberculosis (TB) is well-documented, as socio-economic deprivation constitutes a risk factor that drives TB transmission and progression while hindering treatment adherence. Despite the importance of controlling for socio-economic status (SES) in TB research, no universally accepted tool exists to measure multidimensional poverty's impact on TB-affected households. This article provides an overview of existing SES assessment tools, including income-based measures, wealth indices like the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) and the International Wealth Index (IWI), and multidimensional indices, such as the global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI).

Impact of Nutritional Support for Tuberculosis on Intermediate and Terminal Undernutrition and Treatment Outcomes (INSTITUT) study: a protocol for a quasi-experimental study to assess the impact of nutritional support on tuberculosis treatment outcomes in Benin and Togo.

Introduction: Undernourished persons with tuberculosis (TB) (PWTB) are at increased risk of mortality, treatment failure and relapse. Nutritional support for PWTB has the potential to mitigate the risk of undernutrition. However, given ethical concerns, well-powered randomised control trials of macronutrient support are unavailable to inform policymakers, clinicians and researchers about the impact of nutritional support.

Attitudes, Beliefs, and Predictors of Gestational Weight Gain and Postpartum Weight Retention in South Africa: A Mixed Methods Analysis.

Suboptimal gestational weight gain (GWG) is associated with pregnancy complications and postpartum weight retention (PPWR). Little data exists about GWG and PPWR attitudes and beliefs in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs) to inform interventions. We examined GWG and PPWR attitudes, beliefs, and intentions among pregnant people, with and without HIV, in Cape Town, South Africa.

The ABCDs of Nutritional Assessment in Infectious Diseases Research.

Malnutrition is the most common acquired cause of immunodeficiency worldwide. Nutritional deficiencies can blunt both the innate and adaptive immune response to pathogens. Furthermore, malnutrition is both a cause and consequence of infectious diseases.

Intestinal Parasitic Infections May Be Overlooked Drivers of the Tuberculosis Pandemic.

The burden of tuberculosis (TB) is disproportionate in tropical and subtropical regions, where parasitic coinfections are common. Given the significant geographical overlap between TB and intestinal parasitic infections, it is important to consider the implications of intestinal parasitic infections for the TB pandemic. Intestinal parasitic infections have been theorized to increase vulnerability to TB by altering the inflammatory milieu, inducing undernutrition that blunts the immune response, and affecting drug pharmacokinetics.

National Institutes of Health Funding for Tuberculosis Comorbidities Is Disproportionate to Their Epidemiologic Impact.

Tuberculosis (TB) is a leading infectious killer worldwide. We systematically searched the National Institutes of Health Research, Portfolio Online Reporting Tools Expenditures and Results (RePORTER) website to compare research funding for key TB comorbidities-undernutrition, alcohol use, human immunodeficiency virus, tobacco use, and diabetes-and found a large mismatch between the population attributable fraction of these risk factors and the funding allocated to them.

Not business as usual: Engaging the corporate sector in India's TB elimination efforts.

India has the highest global burden of tuberculosis (TB), accounting for a quarter of the worldwide TB disease incidence. Given the magnitude of India's epidemic, TB has enormous economic implications. Indeed, the majority of individuals with TB disease are in their prime years of economic productivity.

Impact of Undernutrition on Tuberculosis Treatment Outcomes in India: A Multicenter, Prospective, Cohort Analysis.

Background: Undernutrition is the leading risk factor for tuberculosis (TB) globally. Its impact on treatment outcomes is poorly defined.

Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort analysis of adults with drug-sensitive pulmonary TB at 5 sites from 2015-2019.

Corrigendum: Malnutrition leads to increased inflammation and expression of tuberculosis risk signatures in recently exposed household contacts of pulmonary tuberculosis.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.

Malnutrition leads to increased inflammation and expression of tuberculosis risk signatures in recently exposed household contacts of pulmonary tuberculosis.

Background: Most individuals exposed to (Mtb) develop latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) and remain at risk for progressing to active tuberculosis disease (TB). Malnutrition is an important risk factor driving progression from LTBI to TB. However, the performance of blood-based TB risk signatures in malnourished individuals with LTBI remains unexplored.

Nutritional Supplementation Would Be Cost-Effective for Reducing Tuberculosis Incidence and Mortality in India: The Ration Optimization to Impede Tuberculosis (ROTI-TB) Model.

Background: Undernutrition is the leading cause of tuberculosis (TB) in India and is associated with increased TB mortality. Undernutrition also decreases quality of life and economic productivity.

Methods: We assessed the cost-effectiveness of providing augmented rations to undernourished Indians through the government's Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS).

'People listen more to what actors say': A qualitative study of tuberculosis-related knowledge, behaviours, stigma, and potential interventions in Puducherry, India.

India has made substantial advancements in reducing the burden of tuberculosis (TB), but persons living with active TB (PLWATB) still face myriad challenges in seeking and receiving care, including TB-related stigma. To meet the END TB targets, it is critical that PLWATB engage in care and are able to adhere to treatment. This qualitative study aimed to understand TB-related stigma (perceived, enacted, and internalised) and possible interventions to reduce stigma in Puducherry and Tamil Nadu, India.

Tuberculosis-Learning the Impact of Nutrition (TB LION): protocol for an interventional study to decrease TB risk in household contacts.

Background: Comorbidities such as undernutrition and parasitic infections are widespread in India and other tuberculosis (TB)-endemic countries. This study examines how these conditions as well as food supplementation and parasite treatment might alter immune responses to Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection and risk of progression to TB disease.

Methods: This is a 5-year prospective clinical trial at Jawaharlal Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research in Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, India.

Severe undernutrition in children affects tuberculin skin test performance in Southern India.

Background: Undernutrition impairs immunity to Mycobacterium tuberculosis and is a risk factor for tuberculosis disease (TB). We aim to investigate if severe undernutrition affects the tuberculin skin test (TST) response among household contacts (HHCs) of pulmonary TB cases.

Methods: We analyzed data from HHCs (> five years) of pulmonary TB cases in Southern India.

Comparing tuberculosis gene signatures in malnourished individuals using the TBSignatureProfiler.

Background: Gene expression signatures have been used as biomarkers of tuberculosis (TB) risk and outcomes. Platforms are needed to simplify access to these signatures and determine their validity in the setting of comorbidities. We developed a computational profiling platform of TB signature gene sets and characterized the diagnostic ability of existing signature gene sets to differentiate active TB from LTBI in the setting of malnutrition.