Risk Factors Associated with Pulmonary Tuberculosis among HIV/AIDs Patients Visiting Mbagathi County Hospital, Nairobi, Kenya
Authors:   School of Nursing, Catholic University of Eastern Africa, Lang’ata Campus, Kenya, RN Oyunge , JG Ndukui ,   School of Nursing, Catholic University of Eastern Africa, Lang’ata Campus, Kenya
Published: April 2024

Background: Pulmonary Tuberculosis (PTB) remains a serious global public health concern ranked second to HIV as the leading cause of mortality from infectious diseases especially in developing countries. In 2012, PTB was associated with a global morbidity of 8.6 million and a mortality of 1.3 million annually with 320,000 of these deaths associated with HIV-TB co-infection. Developing countries like Kenya accounts for over 80% of global PTB burden and also has the highest HIV prevalence (WHO, 2013; 2009). The objective of this study was to determine the risk factors associated with pulmonary tuberculosis among HIV/AIDs patients visiting Mbagathi County Hospital. Methods and Materials: A hospital-based, cross-sectional study design was conducted among 159 patients visiting Mbagathi County Hospital. Systematic random sampling method was used to select the study participants from the TB/HIV wards and from the CCC clinic until a sample size of 159 was achieved. A pre-tested, semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data from the participants. Data was analyzed using SPSS software version 22.0. Results: A total of 159 (n) participants were selected to participate in the study in Mbagathi County Hospital. All the participants selected for the study were HIV patients above 18 years of age. Most of them were male (62.9%). Most of them were married (58.5%). Most of them did not have a family history of TB (86.2%). Most of the respondents completed their education in high school (52.8%). Most of them were unemployed (76.1%) and most of them had an income of less than 10,000 shillings a month (83.0%). In this study I found out that most respondents had poor dietary habits, most of the respondents were smokers (68.6%) and were not aware of the effects of smoking on their health and most of the respondents had poor adherence to drugs. Factors such as occupation, family income, balanced meal and stopping to take medication whenever they felt their condition was under control had a significant association with the occurrence of PTB. While factors like age, gender, number of meals taken in a day, wanting to quit smoking and forgetting to take medication had no significant association with the occurrence of PTB in this study. Conclusion: The study provides key insights into the risk factors associated with pulmonary tuberculosis among HIV/AIDs patients visiting Mbagathi County Hospital. The findings of this study therefore suggest that there was a significant association between level of education, monthly income, occupation, family history of PTB, lacking food appetite, taking a balanced meal, observing a healthy nutrition, smoking and stopping to take medication when one feels condition is under control with the occurrence of PTB among HIV/AIDs patients visiting Mbagathi County Hospital. Factors such as age, gender, marital status, number of meals eaten in a day, willingness to quit smoking and feeling hassled about sticking to treatment had no significant association with the occurrence of PTB.