Investigating interactions between major infectious and chronic diseases

Diabetes and tuberculosis control is a new body of work examining the public health implications of the links between diabetes and tuberculosis. This includes the implications of increased diabetes prevalence in endemic TB areas and conversely of glucose intolerance in people with TB. The initial work has been conducted in collaboration with the Stop TB and diabetes programmes at the World Health Organization, and the MRC epidemiology unit in Cambridge.

Illustrative references:
- Stevenson CR, Forouhi NG, Roglic G, Williams BG, Lauer JA, Dye C, Unwin N. Diabetes and tuberculosis: the impact of the diabetes epidemic on tuberculosis incidence. BMC Public Health. 2007;7:234. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-7-234

Contact for further information:n.c.unwin@ncl.ac.uk

Anti-retroviral (ARV) therapy has only recently become affordable and more widely available to people in low-income settings. It is known from studies in developed countries, however, that people taking ARVs are at increased risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. There is almost no information and currently no guidance on how to prevent or manage diabetes and cardiovascular disease in people taking ARVs in low-income settings. This project will determine the associations between ARV use and risk factors for diabetes and cardiovascular disease in Tanzania. The results will be used to inform the development of WHO clinical guidance on the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease and diabetes in people receiving ARVs in low-income settings.

Contact for further information: david.whiting@ncl.ac.uk