Patterns of tobacco and alcohol misuse among presumptive TB Patients in Myanmar: prevalence and sociodemographic associations.

This study aimed to assess the prevalence and patterns of tobacco and alcohol use and the associations with socio-demographic variables among presumptive TB patients. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 397 presumptive TB patients in a tertiary hospital in Myanmar. Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) questionnaire and AUDIT-C were used to measure daily tobacco use (single, any or dual use of smoked and smokeless tobacco) and harmful alcohol use, respectively. Multiple and multinomial logistic regression were used to examine the associations with socio-demographic factors. The prevalence of daily use of dual tobacco and any tobacco was 28.2% and 65.7%, respectively. Harmful alcohol use was also high (44.8%). While single use of daily tobacco and harmful alcohol was 28.2% and 7.3%, respectively, concurrent tobacco and alcohol use was 37.5%. While being male and having low education were associated with tobacco use, concurrent tobacco and harmful alcohol use were associated with male gender, low education, and occupation with the government or a company. Due to the high prevalence of tobacco and alcohol misuse, identifying those at risk of tobacco and alcohol misuse and providing integrated care services in a health facility should be considered as a joint activity in national TB and tobacco control programmes.