Background Chronic kidney disease (CKD) and tuberculosis (TB) co-infection devastates the affected individual physically and psychologically. Moreover, poor immune status and mental turmoil worsen cognition and quality of life. Hence, studying the cognitive function and quality of life among such patients is necessary. This study aimed to determine the changes in mini-mental state examination (MMSE) score and general health questionnaire (GHQ-12) score at six months from baseline. Methodology This prospective, observational study was conducted at Sriram Chandra Bhanja Medical College and Hospital, India, from February 2020 to December 2021. A total of 40 patients with stage 3-4 CKD and pulmonary TB were assessed with MMSE and GHQ-12 scales at baseline, two, and six months. The study population was grouped as ≤50 and >50 years of age. We used R software (version 4.1.1) for data analysis. Results In total, 40 (69%) of the 58 enrolled participants completed this study. The mean age of the study population was 50.93 ± 9.83 years. The baseline MMSE scores (≤50 years: 20.8 ± 2.1, >50 years: 20.1 ± 1.7, p = 0.17) were increased (≤50 years: 25.4 ± 1.8, >50 years: 22.4 ± 1.6, p = 0.08) at six months. The baseline GHQ-12 scores (≤50 years: 22.8 ± 2.6, >50 years: 23.1 ± 2.8, p = 0.56) were reduced (≤50 years: 17.9 ± 1.9, >50 years: 20.3 ± 2.3, p = 0.14) at six months. Conclusions The study participants' cognitive function and quality of life improved after six months of modified antitubercular drugs. Nevertheless, the intergroup differences were not statistically significant.
Keywords: active pulmonary tuberculosis; chronic kidney failure; mental cognition; mini-mental state examination; quality of life.
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