Psychiatric Manifestations and Their Sociodemographic and Clinical Correlates in Hospitalized Patients With Pulmonary Tuberculosis: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Pulmonary tuberculosis imposes a prolonged clinical, social, and economic burden that may be accompaniedby depression and anxiety, yet psychiatric morbidity is often overlooked during routine tuberculosis care. The studydesigned to describe psychiatric manifestations among hospitalized patients with pulmonary tuberculosis and examine theirassociations with selected sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. Materials and Methods: This hospital-basedcross-sectional study included 100 adults with pulmonary tuberculosis admitted to the Departments of Medicine and Chestand Tuberculosis at SVS Medical College, Mahabubnagar, India, between October 2014 and October 2016. Participantswere selected purposively after radiographic and/or sputum confirmation. Psychiatric diagnoses were assessed with the MiniInternational Neuropsychiatric Interview Plus, and socioeconomic status with the Sodhi and Sharma schedule. Archivedaggregate tables were harmonized before analysis. Depression and anxiety were examined as binary outcomes using Fisherexact, Fisher-Freeman-Halton, or Pearson chi-square tests as appropriate. Results: Forty-six participants had a psychiatricdisorder (46.0%; 95% CI 36.6-55.7%). Depression was identified in 36.0% (95% CI 27.3-45.8%): mild in 10%, moderate in16%, and severe in 10%. Anxiety disorders were present in 10.0% (95% CI 5.5-17.4%), comprising panic disorder in 6%and generalized anxiety disorder in 4%. Depression was more frequent among illiterate than literate participants (50.0% vs18.2%; p=0.001), differed across socioeconomic classes (p=0.006), and was markedly more common when illness durationexceeded three months (80.8% vs 20.3%; p<0.001). Depression was not significantly associated with age group, sex,domicile, occupation, or physical complications. Anxiety showed no statistically significant association with the examinedcharacteristics, although it was more frequent among patients with complications (23.5% vs 7.2%; p=0.064). Conclusion:Psychiatric morbidity, particularly depression, affected a substantial proportion of hospitalized pulmonary tuberculosispatients. Routine mental-health screening and timely referral may strengthen patient-centred tuberculosis care, especially forindividuals with prolonged illness, limited education, or socioeconomic disadvantage, and support treatment engagementduring prolonged therapy courses