Background: Tuberculosis predominantly affects socioeconomically disadvantaged communities. The extent to which specific dietary and lifestyle factors contribute to tuberculosis susceptibility has not been established.
Methods: A total of 200 residents of a village in Northern Quebec were investigated during a tuberculosis outbreak and identified to have active tuberculosis, latent tuberculosis infection, or neither. Participants completed questionnaires about their intake of food from traditional and commercial sources, and provided blood samples. Adults were asked about recent smoking and drug and alcohol intake. Nutritional adequacy was evaluated with reference to North American standards. Multiple dietary, lifestyle, and housing factors were combined in a logistic regression model evaluating the contributions of each to disease and infection.
Findings: After adjusting for potential confounding, new infection was associated with inadequate intake of fruit and vegetables (odds ratio [OR], 2.1; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.03-4.3), carbohydrates (OR, 4.4; 95% CI, 1.2-16.3), and certain vitamins and minerals. A multivariable model, combining nutrition, housing, and lifestyle factors, found associations between new infection and inadequate fruit and vegetable intake (OR, 2.3; 95% CI, 1.0-5.1), living in the same house as a person with smear-positive tuberculosis (OR, 14.7; 95% CI, 1.6-137.3), and visiting a community gathering house (OR, 3.7; 95% CI, 1.7-8.3). Current smoking was associated with new infection (OR, 9.4; 95% CI, 1.2-72) among adults completing a detailed lifestyle survey.
Interpretation: Inadequate nutrition was associated with increased susceptibility to infection, but not active tuberculosis. Interventions addressed at improving nutrition may reduce susceptibility to infection in settings where access to healthy foods is limited.
Keywords: disease outbreaks; latent tuberculosis; nutrition; nutritional status; tuberculosis.