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Resource centre on India's rural distress
 
 

Stress leading to TB in young professionals -Ekatha Ann John
-The Times of India
 

CHENNAI: Stress-related health problems are no strangers to young professionals, but a new guest has found its way to the list-tuberculosis.

The infectious disease often conjures images of a lined and gaunt face and an emaciated body, but the bacteria is striking early and, increasingly, young professionals are the victims. "At least 60% of the patients I see work in sectors that involve a lot of stress, with the IT sector comprising a large chunk. Many of them are between 18 to 30 years old," said Dr Manjula Datta, former deputy director of National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis (NIRT), who has also been practising.

Doctors attribute the reasons for the uptick to stress and unhealthy eating patterns which weaken the immune system. "The prevalence of TB among this group is yet to be studied in detail, but there are in-depth studies to show that stress, especially chronic stress, affects the immune system, making the person susceptible to infections," said Dr Soumya Swaminathan, Director of NIRT. "While HIV has often been associated to a weak immune system that makes it conducive for TB bacteria, erratic eating patterns, smoking and alcohol also makes the body predisposed to the infection," said Dr Swaminathan. She said the closed environment young professionals work in only furthers transmission.

Studies show that chronic stress results in sustained changes in the body, such as increased blood pressure, for instance, which over time can result in damaged arteries and heart disease. The continuous increase in stress hormones can also result in suppression of the immune system's white blood cells, leading to an increased risk of infections.

While TB in the lungs - the infectious form - is still relatively low among this group, doctors say they are falling victims to lesser known versions of the disease that strike the stomach, heart, spine, lymph node and the bone. This makes sufferers less likely to think they have TB, and also makes right diagnosis elusive. "As a result, many of them are either overdiagnosed or not diagnosed with TB at all," said Dr Swaminathan. She cites the case of uterine TB, which causes infertility. "The woman is immediately put on fertility treatment without receiving treatment for TB. This is a worrying trend," said Dr Swaminathan.

In many of the cases, the culprit is latent tuberculosis, which lies dormant in people, but later becomes active after the immune system is weakened. Most of these patients come with complaints of low-grade fever and weight loss along with low appetite. "They usually report first to physicians and when they don't respond to treatment they are referred to specialists. Many are in denial mode when tests confirm they have TB. They often go for a second or third opinion," said social scientist Beena Thomas, who works with TB patients.

About a third of the world's population has latent TB, says the World Health Organization (WHO), and roughly 10% of those go on to develop the highly-infectious active form of the disease.