Abstract

Background: The burden of pulmonary tuberculosis is very high in India and developing countries. Aims &
Objective: The main objective of present study was to assess the changes in body mass index and oxidative stress in pulmonary tuberculosis patients with antitubercular treatment.
Materials and Methods: Fifty pulmonary tuberculosis patients and thirty healthy control were included in this study and they were matched for age, height and weight. The extent of oxidative stress was measured by blood level of malondialdehyde through spectrophotometer and changes in weight was measured by changes in body mass index.
Results: The study showed a statistically significant decrease in blood malondialdehyde level and there was significant increase in body mass index between control and cases but there was not significant increase in body mass index between new case and follow up cases. Conclusion: Our study showed a negative correlation between oxidative stress and body mass index. It is suggested that antitubercular treatment increases body mass index and decreases oxidative stress even without antioxidant supplement and these physiological improvement is better if other factor of oxidative stress are avoided.