Table 1. Baseline characteristics of the household contacts of pulmonary TB patients.
| Variables | Household contacts (n = 1511) |
|---|---|
| Age (years) [range] | 24.32 ± 15.18 [1–65] |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 17.51 ±1.52 |
| n (%) | |
| Gender | |
| Male | 785 (52) |
| Female | 726 (48) |
| BCG scar | |
| Present | 1150 (76) |
| Absent | 361 (24) |
| Subjects coughing, duration (weeks) | |
| ≤ 2 | 71 |
| 3–5 | 210 |
| ≥ 6 | 16 |
| Tobacco-smoking† | |
| Smokers | 35 (2.3) |
| If yes, smoking index | |
| ≤ 1 pack-yr | 5 (0.3) |
| > 1 pack-yr | 30 (02) |
| Non-smokers | 1439 (95) |
| Status not known | 37 (2.4) |
| Alcoholic ‡ | |
| Yes | 24 (02) |
| No | 1377 (91) |
| Status not known | 110 (07) |
| TST | |
| Positive | 787 (52) |
| Negative | 724 (48) |
| QFT-GIT assay | |
| Positive | 917 (60) |
| Negative | 581 (39) |
| Intermediate | 13 (01) |
Note: TB = tuberculosis; BMI = body mass index; BCG = Bacille Calmette-Guerin; DST = drug susceptibility testing; TST = tuberculin skin test; QFT-GIT = QuantiFERON-TB® Gold In-Tube.
Age and BMI is presented as mean + SD.
† In smokers smoking index or numbers of “pack-yr” were estimated as per definition provided by Malson et al. 2001. One pack-yr is defined as smoking of 20 cigarettes per day for one year. In India one pack of cigarette contains 10 cigarettes; therefore, smoking two packs of cigarettes per day for one year will be equivalent to one pack-year. Since, the net weight of tobacco in a bidi [150 to 240 mg] is about one-fourth of that in a cigarette, in bidi smokers; "cigarette equivalent pack years" were computed by dividing the "pack-yr" calculated on the basis of smoking bidis by four 13.
‡ Screening for alcoholism was done using CAGE criteria (C = Cut Down, A = Angry, G = Guilty, E = Eye opener), 14.