CHENNAI: Ensuring nutritional support to tuberculosis-affected households in India could prevent more than 3.6 lakh deaths and nearly nine lakh TB cases between 2023 and 2035, according to a study published in The Lancet Global Health.
The study, authored by Christopher Finn McQuaid, Rebecca A Clark and others, identifies undernutrition as a major and under-addressed driver of TB in India. While undernutrition accounts for about 20 per cent of TB cases globally, it contributes to over one-third of cases in India, making nutrition a critical component in TB elimination efforts.
The researchers found that food support to TB-affected households could deliver significant public health gains. The study found that one TB case could be averted for every 10 households and one TB death prevented for every 24 households receiving nutritional assistance.
Importantly, it highlighted that extending nutrition support beyond TB patients to their entire households produced a greater positive impact. Under the intervention model, TB patients received food baskets providing 1,200 kilocalories per day, while household contacts were given 750 kilocalories per day.
The model assumed 50 per cent coverage of adults undergoing TB treatment and their households, representing about 23 per cent of TB-affected households across the country.
The analysis was conducted using a national TB transmission model, drawing on Indian data on disease spread, patterns and population impact. Epidemiological evidence was combined with findings from food support trials. Body mass index, which influences TB risk, treatment outcomes and mortality, was a key factor in the assessment.
The study found that the food support programme resulted in 4.6 per cent fewer TB deaths and a 2.2 per cent reduction in TB cases. It noted that allocating additional funds would help ensure the uninterrupted implementation of the programme. The authors emphasised that nutrition should be treated as both a preventive measure and a form of treatment support.
They recommended integrating nutrition support into routine TB care, prioritising high-risk and undernourished households, strengthening existing food and cash transfer schemes, and aligning nutrition policy with India’s TB elimination goals.
The study concluded that nutrition-focused household support could substantially reduce TB transmission and save lives at a relatively low cost, urging policymakers to make nutrition a core pillar of India’s TB control strategy.