Impact of Tuberculosis on the Quality of Life

Apart from physical symptoms, TB patients face various problems that are social and economic in nature. Therefore, for a comprehensive assessment of patients' health status, it is essential to consider the overall impact of TB on health and patients' perception of well being, besides routine clinical, radiological and bacteriological assessments.A prospective study was conducted on 90 patients of tuberculosis at 2 directly observed treatment short course (DOTS) cum microscopy centers in an urban area of Delhi. The WHOQOLBREF (Hindi) questionnaire was used to assess the QOL at the onset of treatment, after 3 months of treatment under DOTS, and at completion of treatment. Patients with tuberculosis had significantly lower mean scores than controls for overall QOL. The most affected domains were physical and psychological. Women scored significantly better than men in the physical and environmental domains. Overall QOL scores were lowest for category II and significantly lower for the psychological and social domains. The mean scores after treatment were significantly lower than controls for overall QOL, the social and environmental domains. The DOTS regimen improves the QOL and its d