| dc.description.abstract | Kenya is ranked thirteenth of the twenty two high-burden tuberculosis countries in the world and fifth highest in Africa. The majority of the people affected by TB in Turkana Central District were aged 25 - 44 years, with the peak at 25 - 34 years. No study in the District Hospital or in the County had targeted establishing nutrition status of tuberculosis patients. Nutritional status is a significant risk factor for the development of tuberculosis. Tuberculosis increases the body need for energy, protein and the demand for vitamins and minerals especially vitamins A, B6 and B12 and minerals like iron and zinc and therefore influencing nutrition status. The study aimed to establish the nutrition status of pulmonary tuberculosis patients aged 25 – 44 years attending TB clinic at Lodwar County and Referral Hospital, Turkana County, Kenya. A cross-sectional analytical study design was adopted among 242 TB patients, who were systematically sampled. Purposive sampling was used to select the Lodwar County and Referral Hospital as the location of the study. BMI, MUAC and skin-fold thickness were measured to determine the nutritional status. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 17 and summarized using descriptive statistics such as frequencies, means, and percentages of the study population. Majority of the TB patients were undernourished (50.15%, 59.60% and 61.60%) based on BMI, MUAC and Skinfold thickness respectively. The principal cut-off point used in this study for BMI and MUAC was adopted from WHO 2004 and mean fat percentage interpreted from Lafayette skin fold reference, 2005. There was a high prevalence of under nutrition among the pulmonary tuberculosis patients aged 25 – 44 years attending TB clinic at Lodwar County and Referral Hospital, Turkana County, Kenya. | en_US |
