The worldwide rise in diabetes poses a huge challenge to the fight against TB. Diabetes suppresses an individual’s immune system, making them more vulnerable to illness like TB. Recent estimates suggest as many as 15% of TB cases are among people with diabetes.
TB and diabetes together complicate treatment for each condition. TB treatment makes it more difficult to manage a patient’s glucose levels, whilst diabetic TB patients are less likely to be complete their TB treatment successfully and more likely to die from the disease.
This is a particular issue in low and middle-income countries which already have the highest rates of TB and some of the largest growth rates of diabetes. India now has the highest rates of both TB and diabetes in the World, which is why our Delhi DIVINE project has taken on a diabetes specialist to manage patients with both conditions.