Malnutrition and childhood tuberculosis.

Cell-mediated immune status (CMI) of sixty-five children suffering from various clinical forms of tuberculosis and thirty age- and sex-matched healthy children aged between 1 and 5 years was investigated to understand the role of malnutrition in tuberculosis. A significant association between severe malnutrition and severe forms of infection was observed. Data on CMI showed immunosuppressive effect of tuberculosis per se in all children. Well nourished children had similar CMI status irrespective of the severity of the disease while malnourished children with severe forms of disease showed lowest CMI response. These data suggest not only the synergistic interactions of malnutrition and tuberculosis, but the contributory role of malnutrition in causing more severe immuno suppression. The results point out the importance of better nutritional status of the child in preventing the severe forms of the disease.