Diabetes mellitus prevalence in tuberculosis patients and the background population in Guinea-Bissau: a disease burden study from the capital Bissau

Background: Data regarding the association between diabetes mellitus (DM) and tuberculosis (TB) in Africa are scare. We did a DM screening survey among TB patients and non-TB controls in Guinea-Bissau. Methods: The study was conducted at the Bandim Health Project (BHP) in the capital Bissau. From July 2010 to July 2011, newly diagnosed TB cases were identified through a TB notification system. Concurrently, non-TB controls were selected randomly from the BHP's demographic surveillance database and visited at home. Participants were tested using fasting blood glucose (FBG) measurements. DM was diagnosed as FBG >= 7 mmol/l. Our survey was linked to the patient database at the only existing Diabetes Clinic in Bissau. Results: TB patients (n = 110) were older than the controls (n = 572) (35 vs 31 years; p = 0.02), more often male (55% vs 37%; p < 0.001) and had a lower body mass index (18.7 vs 24.2 kg/m(2); p < 0.001). The prevalence of DM was 2.8% (3/107) for TB patients and 2.1% (11/531) for controls (p = 0.64). Excluding two controls already receiving anti-diabetic treatment, the prevalence of DM was 2.8% (3/107) vs 1.7% (9/529) (p = 0.44). Conclusions: The prevalence of DM was low, also among TB patients. No association between DM and TB was found.