TUESDAY, Jan. 16 (HealthDay News) -- The risk of tuberculosis infection is twice as high in tobacco smokers and also appears to be higher in those exposed to secondhand smoke and indoor air pollution, according to a meta-analysis published in the January issue of PLoS Medicine.
Megan Murray, M.D., and colleagues from the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, performed a meta-analysis of 43 studies examining the association between environmental exposure and tuberculosis, including 33 on tobacco smoking, five on passive smoking and five on indoor air pollution.
The researchers found that tobacco smokers had about twice the risk of tuberculosis infection as non-smokers and had a higher risk of having a positive tuberculin skin test, active tuberculosis or dying from tuberculosis. Passive smoking and indoor air pollution also appeared to increase the risk of tuberculosis disease, although the evidence was more limited.
"There is consistent evidence that tobacco smoking is associated with an increased risk of tuberculosis," Murray and colleagues conclude. "Tuberculosis control programs might benefit from a focus on interventions aimed at reducing tobacco and indoor air pollution exposures, especially among those at high risk for exposure to tuberculosis."
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