Lancet Study on Nutrition and TB Linkage

GS Paper 2

 Syllabus: Social Issues: Health/ Hunger

Source: IE

 Context: New studies published in The Lancet and The Lancet Global Health journals provide evidence that improved nutrition can significantly reduce tuberculosis (TB) incidence and mortality in India.

• The study is backed by India’s ICMR

More about the study:

The Reducing Activation of Tuberculosis by Improvement of Nutritional Status (RATIONS) trial conducted in Jharkhand (the state has a high TB burden) revealed:

• Better nutrition among patients with lung TB can lead to a 40% reduction in all forms of TB and a nearly 50% reduction in infectious TB
• Underweight TB patients who experience early weight gain can have their risk of mortality reduced by 60%.
• Nearly 30 households would need to be provided nutritional supplementation to prevent one case of TB

Significance: The trials’ findings are particularly significant as undernutrition has emerged as a leading risk factor for TB worldwide. These results could have policy implications and contribute to India’s goal of eliminating TB by 2025

What is tuberculosis (TB)?

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It primarily affects the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body.

Status of TB in India and the world:

• As per the WHO Global TB Report 2022: India’s TB incidence for the year 2021 is 210 per 100,000 population (a decline of over 18% from 2020)
• India has a large burden of the world’s TB, with an estimated economic cost of US$100 million lost annually due to this disease.
• As per the WHO Global TB Report 2022, TB cases are attributable to five risk factors — undernourishment, HIV infection, alcohol use disorders, smoking and diabetes.

For Need for new TB vaccines: Click Here

  For WHO’s Global Framework for New TB Vaccines: Click Here

  For Government initiatives to eliminate TB: Click Here  

Insta Links:

Tuberculosis

Mains Links:

Appropriate local community-level healthcare intervention is a prerequisite to achieving “health for all” in India. Explain. (UPSC 2018)