CIGARETTE SMOKING AS A RISK FACTOR FOR PULMONARY TUBERCULOSIS

Objectives: This research study aimed to find out the relationship between smoking of cigarettes and the pulmonary TB. Methodology: This transverse research study conducted in Jinnah Hospital, in Lahore city located South of Punjab and in the middle of the country Pakistan. We reviewed the medical charts of the patients from TB between 2016 to the year of 2018. Total 61 patients having age from 15 to 96 years with confirm pulmonary TB were the part of case group & one hundred and twenty two persons with matched age & gender with no TB (patients getting treatment in other wards of hospital) were the part of the control group. We collected the information about the smoking condition, amount of the cigarettes smoked in a day and smoking duration from the medical charts of the participants. SPSS. 22 was in use for the comparison of the collected information of both groups. Chi-square test was in use for the comparison of the rate of the smoking of cigarettes in both groups. Results: Out of total sixty one patients, 68.90% (n: 42) patients were smoker, whereas out of total one hundred and twenty two controls, 18.0% (n: 22) persons were smoker. The proposed OR (Odds Ratio) of the association between habit of cigarette smoking & TB was 10.10 with CI of 95%. The average pocket-year of smoked cigarette (Twenty per pocket) in patients & controls persons were 15.90 +/- 13.70 & 13.50 +/- 9.10 correspondingly. Conclusion: The results of this research study concluded that there is strong association between pulmonary TB and habit of cigarette smoking. Therefore, smoking of cigarette is a positive risk factor for the acquisition of the tuberculosis.