Alcohol use disorders among pulmonary tuberculosis patients under RNTCP in urban Pondicherry, India

Background: Alcohol use is implicated in a wide variety of diseases and disorders including TB.

Objectives: To study the prevalence and pattern of alcohol use among the PTB patients registered under RNTCP in urban Pondicherry and the association of various socio-demographic variables with alcohol drinking during treatment.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 235 PTB patients from 6 randomly selected urban PHCs of Pondicherry from Jan 2013 to March 2014. Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) was used for screening the PTB patients for their severity of alcohol use. Data were entered in Epi-data v3.1 and was analyzed by SPSS v20. Chi-square test and multiple-logistic regression were used.

Results: Prevalence of alcohol use among PTB patients at the time of diagnosis was 59% and during treatment was 31.5%. Around 54% PTB patients had alcohol use disorders (AUD) during diagnosis, whereas the same during treatment was 26.4%. Among drinkers at the time of diagnosis (n=139), 80% modified and 20% did not modify their alcohol use even after TB diagnosis. Male gender was significantly associated with alcohol use (p≤0.001). Univariate analysis showed that lower level of education, lower SES, unemployed/unskilled/semiskilled/skilled occupational group, and Category II were significantly associated with alcohol use among male patients (p<0.05). Multivariate analysis showed that none of the variables were associated.

Conclusions: One-third of PTB patients were drinking alcohol during the treatment. Though 80% modified alcohol use after TB diagnosis, the rest 20% did not modify. Necessary interventions need to be planned to screen for alcohol use.