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Home / The International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, Volume 27, Number 9

Latent TB and depressive symptoms in household contacts of persons with active TB

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BACKGROUND: Depression is common among persons with TB and is associated with poor clinical outcomes. However, little is known about the relationship between latent TB infection (LTBI) and depression. We assessed the association between LTBI and depressive symptoms among household contacts (HHCs) of patients receiving TB treatment.

METHODS: We enrolled 1,009 HHCs of 307 patients receiving TB treatment in Lima, Peru, during 2016–2018. At enrollment, HHC LTBI status was assessed using the interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA). Depressive symptoms were assessed at baseline and 12 months later using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) with a cut-off of ≥5. We used logistic regression to estimate the odds ratio (OR) for PHQ-9 ≥5, comparing HHCs with and without baseline LTBI.

RESULTS: Among 921 HHCs, 374 (41.0%) had LTBI at baseline, and 69 (12.4%) of 567 HHCs had PHQ-9 ≥5. Compared to HHCs without LTBI at enrollment, those with LTBI had almost two times the odds of PHQ-9 ≥5 at follow-up after controlling for potential confounders (adjusted OR 1.93, 95% CI 1.09–3.39); this association was driven by greater severities of depressive symptoms.

CONCLUSION: HHCs with LTBI had increased odds of depressive symptoms 1 year later. This population may benefit from mental health screening and interventions integrated into TB programs.

Keywords: LTBI; Peru; depression; mental health

Document Type: Research Article

Affiliations: 1: School of Social Work, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 2: Department of Medical Education, Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 3: Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons/New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA 4: Socios En Salud, Lima 5: Socios En Salud, Lima, Grupo de Investigación en Bioquímica y Biología Sintética, Universidad Nacional Federico Villarreal, Lima, Peru 6: Division of Global Health Equity, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA 7: Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, Division of Global Health Equity, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA 8: Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, Socios En Salud, Lima

Publication date: September 1, 2023

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  • The International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (IJTLD) is for clinical research and epidemiological studies on lung health, including articles on TB, TB-HIV and respiratory diseases such as COVID-19, asthma, COPD, child lung health and the hazards of tobacco and air pollution. Individuals and institutes can subscribe to the IJTLD online or in print – simply email us at [email protected] for details.

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