Skip to main content
. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2018 Jan 29.
Published in final edited form as: Am J Epidemiol. 2012 Jul 11;176(5):409–422. doi: 10.1093/aje/kws007

Table 3.

Population-estimated Incidence of Tuberculosis According to Anthropometric and Laboratory Measures of Nutritional Status Among US Adults, NHANES I Epidemiologic Follow-up Study, 1971–1992

Nutritional Status Indicator Crude Frequency of TB in
NHEFS Cohort
 Crude Distribution of Subjects
in Each Category of NHEFS
Cohorta 		No. of TB Cases,
in Thousands
(Population Estimate)		 Incidence Density/100,000
Person-Years (Population
Estimate)		 Hazard
Ratio		 95% CI
No. of
Cases		 % of Category
Total		 No. of
Subjects		 % of NHEFS
Total		 No. of
Cases		 95% CI No. of
Cases		 95% CI
Total 61 0.43 14,189 100 372.0 245, 500 22.8 15.0, 30.6
Body mass indexb
 <18.5 11 2.17 508 3.8 118.0 45, 191 260.2 98.6, 421.8 11.7 5.3, 25.9
 18.5–25 32 0.48 6,639 46.8 192.0 101, 282 24.7 13.0, 36.3 1 Reference
 25–30 14 0.30 4,647 32.8 50.0 12, 87 8.9 2.2, 15.6 0.37 0.17, 0.82
 >30 4 0.17 2,388 16.8 13.0 0, 26 5.1 0.0, 10.5 0.22 0.07, 0.69
SFT,c mm
 Low 14 1.83 767 5.42 121.5 44.1, 198.9 170.6 59.6, 281.5 8.04 3.10, 20.87
 Normal 34 0.43 7,846 55.44 202.2 96.2, 308.6 22.4 10.6, 34.2 1 Reference
 High 13 0.23 5,538 39.14 48.7 12.6, 84.8 7.5 1.9, 13.0 0.34 0.14, 0.85
AMA,c cm2
 Low 13 1.55 839 5.92 89.5 32.1, 146.9 120.4 41.6, 199.1 5.09 2.00, 12.94
 Normal 35 0.45 7,751 54.70 223.4 118.1, 328.7 24.8 13.0, 36.6 1 Reference
 High 13 0.23 5,580 39.20 59.4 16.5, 102.3 9.1 2.5, 15.6 0.36 0.17, 0.79
Both SFT and AMA
 SFT low, AMA low 7 5.07 138 0.98 59.6 18.0, 101.2 572.7 134.2, 1,011.2 27.87 10.26, 75.68
 SFT low, AMA normal 7 1.35 519 3.67 61.8 0, 133.0 119.4 0, 239.7 2.98 0.63, 14.12
 SFT low, AMA high 0 0 110 0.78 0 0 0
 SFT normal, AMA low 6 1.11 540 3.82 29.9 0, 69.6 63.8 0, 128.1 5.54 1.34, 22.91
 SFT normal, AMA
  normal		 22 0.44 4,984 35.23 133.7 53.2, 214.3 23.2 9.1, 37.2 1 Reference
 SFT normal, AMA high 6 0.26 2,321 16.41 38.6 0, 77.5 13.8 0, 27.7 0.46 0.13, 1.66
 SFT high, AMA low 0 0 161 1.14 0 0 0
 SFT high, AMA normal 6 0.26 2,246 15.88 27.8 0, 59.4 10.3 0, 20.6 0.59 0.23, 1.49
 SFT high, AMA high 7 0.22 3,129 22.12 20.8 4.0, 37.6 5.7 1.1, 10.3 0.25 0.09, 0.67
Blood hemoglobin level
 Low (anemia)d 10 0.48 2,087 15.32 42.2 0, 84.4 20.7 0, 41.5 0.88 0.29, 2.66
 Normal 49 0.42 11,533 84.68 327.0 205.3, 448.6 23.7 14.8, 32.7 1 Reference
Serum albumin level
 Low (hypoalbuminemia)e 3 1.86 155 1.39 44.8 0, 117.7 408.7 0, 1,085.2 12.96 2.50, 67.10
 Normal 50 0.45 11,013 98.61 323.2 190.1, 456.3 264.4 89.2, 439.6 1 Reference
Iron statusf
 Deficiency unlikely 44 0.48 9,258 87.8 325.3 181.1, 469.4 30.8 17.0, 44.5 1 Reference
 Deficiency possible 7 0.67 1,046 9.9 34.0 5.5, 62.6 32.1 4.9, 59.3 1.04 0.29, 1.34
 Deficiency likely 0 0 235 2.2 0 0 Undefined Undefined
Serum vitamin A level,
  μmol/L
 <105 3 1.46 205 1.9 14.6 0, 34.1 80.9 0, 189.8 2.80 0.70, 11.40
 >105 48 0.45 10,584 98.10 348.5 199.0, 498.1 29.6 16.8, 42.4 1 Reference
Low thiamine excretion 1 4.0 25 0.2 3.3 0, 9.9 123.2 0, 381.0 3.70 0.50, 28.80
Low riboflavin excretion 0 0 95 0.9 0 0 Undefined Undefined

Abbreviations: AMA, arm muscle area; CI, confidence interval; NHANES I, First National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey; NHEFS, NHANES I Epidemiologic Follow-up Study; SFT, skinfold thickness; TB, tuberculosis.

a

Excludes 218 subjects with a prior history of TB before NHANES I.

b

Weight (kg)/height (m)2.

c

SFT and AMA were classified as low, normal, or high on the basis of their sex-specific population distributions. “Low” was defined as <5th percentile, “high” as >60th percentile, and “normal” as values between those cutpoints.

d

Anemia was defined as a hemoglobin level less than 11.5 g/dL in females and less than 13.0 g/dL in males.

e

Hypoalbuminemia was defined as a serum albumin level less than 3.5 g/dL.

f

The likelihood of iron deficiency was based on serum iron level, percent transferrin saturation, and total iron-binding capacity, as follows. “Iron deficiency probable” was defined as low serum iron level and low percent transferrin saturation and high iron-binding capacity; “iron deficiency possible” was defined as any 2 of these 3 abnormalities; and “iron deficiency unlikely” was defined as only 1 or none of these abnormalities.