title: Epidemiology and interaction of diabetes mellitus and tuberculosis and challenges for care: a review.
abstract: The global burden of diabetes mellitus (DM) is immense, with numbers expected to rise to over 550 million by 2030. Countries in Asia, such as India and China, will bear the brunt of this unfolding epidemic. Persons with DM have a significantly increased risk of developing active tuberculosis (TB) that is two to three times higher than in persons without DM. This article reviews the epidemiology and interactions of these two diseases, discusses how the World Health Organization and International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease developed and launched the Collaborative Framework for the care and control of TB and DM, and examines three important challenges for care. These relate to 1) bi-directional screening of the two diseases, 2) treatment of patients with dual disease, and 3) prevention of TB in persons with DM. For each area, the gaps in knowledge and the priority research areas are highlighted. Undiagnosed, inadequately treated and poorly controlled DM appears to be a much greater threat to TB prevention and control than previously realised, and the problem needs to be addressed. Prevention of DM through attention to unhealthy diets, sedentary lifestyles and childhood and adult obesity must be included in broad non-communicable disease prevention strategies. This collaborative framework provides a template for action, and the recommendations now need to be implemented and evaluated in the field to lay down a firm foundation for the scaling up of interventions that work and are effective in tackling this dual burden of disease.
authors.affiliation: International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), Paris, France ; London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
authors.forename: A D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Harries
authors.affiliation: The Union South-East Asia Office, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Satyanarayana
authors.affiliation: The Union South-East Asia Office, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: A M V
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.affiliation: Office of the WHO Representative in India, World Health Organization, New Delhi, India ; Department of Community Medicine, Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) Medical College, Bangalore, India.
authors.forename: S B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Nagaraja
authors.affiliation: Médecins Sans Frontières, Brussels Operational Centre, Mumbai, India.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Isaakidis
authors.affiliation: All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Malhotra
authors.affiliation: Office of the WHO Representative in India, World Health Organization, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Achanta
authors.affiliation: Office of the WHO Representative in India, World Health Organization, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Naik
authors.affiliation: The Union South-East Asia Office, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.affiliation: Medical Department, Operational Research Unit, Médecins Sans Frontières, Brussels Operational Centre, Luxembourg, Luxembourg.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zachariah
authors.affiliation: Stop TB Department, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lönnroth
authors.affiliation: World Diabetes Foundation, Gentofte, Denmark.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kapur
keywords: DM; DM-TB interaction; TB; challenges for care; epidemiology