Health-related quality of life among patients with tuberculosis in Afghanistan

Globally, tuberculosis (TB) remains the foremost infectious cause of death. Additionally, poor quality of life (QOL) is commonplace in affected individuals and constitutes a significant factor contributing to treatment failure and poor prognosis. This study aims to evaluate health-related QOL among Afghan TB patients. This cross-sectional study used data from five healthcare facilities in Southern Afghanistan. Data were collected between July and September 2025. Health-related QOL was assessed using the WHO-QOL-BREF (Pashtu version). The binary outcome health-related QOL (poor vs. good) was used in a multivariable logistic regression model. Sociodemographic and clinical variables were included in the logistic regression model. Overall, 70.8% of TB patients had poor health-related QOL. The highest (52.58 ± 20.18) and the lowest (32.52 ± 14.53) scores were observed in the social and psychological domains, respectively. In adjusted models, odds of poor health-related QOL were higher among rural residents (AOR 1.96; 95% CI 1.18–3.26), the uneducated (AOR 1.83; 95% CI 1.04–3.21), patients with severe disease (AOR 3.50; 95% CI 2.12–5.76), current smokers (AOR 3.56; 95% CI 1.17–10.79), those with no counselling during treatment (AOR 3.21; 95% CI 1.21–8.50), and those with medical comorbidity (AOR 2.08; 95% CI 1.26–3.44). TB patients in Southern Afghanistan have a poor health-related QOL. The study underscores the urgent need for interventions to better protect and improve the health-related QOL in this population.