Diabetes ups tuberculosis risk

According to recent analysis published in the Public Library of Science Journal, PLoS Medicine this week, people with diabetes could face a three times increased risk of developing active tuberculosis .
A research team working from the Harvard School of Public Health found that diabetes increases the risk of TB by as much as three times, no matter the geographic region. To reach the conclusions, the research team analysed data from 1.7 million people from 13 studies.
According to the research, diabetes could account for as many as 10 per cent of the TB cases in both India and China. Then it comes to identifying TB, the researchers said, people with diabetes should warrant special testing. TB is second only to AIDS in terms of fatalities due to infectious diseases.