Study of respiratory symptoms among sputum positive

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¥rruew ofLiterature
Predisposing Factors for TB (Seaton, 1989) :
1) Nutrition: Malnutrition is believed to predispose to tuberculosis.
2) Housing: Poor housing conditions with overcrowding such as still exist
in many common lodging houses may contribute to the disease (Patel,
1985 and Capewell, 1986).
3) Occupation : Tuberculosis is commoner among the health service
professions due to an increased risk of exposure to the disease
(Festenstein 1984 and Geiseler et al., 1987). Workers in occupations
giving rise to pulmonary silicosis such as masons, quarry workers,
knife, grinders and coalminers have a greater risk of developing
tuberculosis (Snider, 1978 ).
4) Alcoholism: Tuberculosis is common in alcoholics, contributory factors
probably being malnutrition, adverse social factors and a direct effect of
alcohol on host defenses (Smith and Palmer, 1976).
5) Cigarette smoking : Cigarette smoking is a principal cause of
preventable diseases and premature death world- wide. It is implicated
in a large number of diseases in the different body systems. Smoking is
considered as the chief contributor to chronic pulmonary disease in
adults (Alcalde et al., 1996 ).
The studies that were carried out to explore the role of smoking in
developing active IB revealed controversial results, probably because of
the interference of other factors, such as age, alcohol consumption or
socioeconomic status. However, a significant positive correlation was
found between the degree ofsmoking and the release ofintracellular and
extra cellular reactive oxidants in peripheral blood (Richards et al., 1989).
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