# Metabolic Syndrome Outcomes Among Patients with Tuberculosis in Tanzania

> **NIH AI K23** · MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA · 2026 · $36,687

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
 The prevalence of noncommunicable diseases such as diabetes and metabolic syndrome is increasing
in settings where infectious diseases like tuberculosis (TB) are common. There is a clear bidirectional interaction
between diabetes and TB. However, less is known about the intersection of TB and metabolic syndrome, a
multifaceted condition of which glucose dysregulation is one component. The proposed K23 work seeks to go
beyond unidimensional glycemic measures in order to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the
metabolic profiles of people with TB and how metabolic parameters change over the course of TB treatment. To
do this we will leverage an ongoing prospective cohort of adults newly diagnosed with TB in Tanzania. We will
focus on the group with newly recognized pre-diabetes at the time of TB diagnosis, since our prior work has
demonstrated that this subpopulation is heterogeneous, and this health state is dynamic. In Aim 1 we will
measure and describe a set of blood-based and anthropometric metabolic markers and characterize TB severity
at the time of TB diagnosis, testing the hypothesis that metabolic syndrome is directly associated with TB
severity. In Aim 2 we will measure and describe metabolic outcomes at completion of TB treatment and identify
risk factors for different metabolic outcomes.
 Dr. Alkabab is committed to improving health by advancing understanding of the biologic interplay
between communicable and non-communicable diseases and developing interventions that address both in an
integrated manner. She is in an extraordinarily supportive research environment within the Division of Infectious
Diseases, Department of Medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina. To accomplish the proposed
work and transition to research independence, the applicant has assembled a mentoring team with decades of
experience in relevant disciplines to guide her. Training in advanced statistics, the science of diabetes and
metabolism, human 

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11459455
- **Project number:** 3K23AI187709-02S1
- **Recipient organization:** MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
- **Principal Investigator:** Yosra  Alkabab
- **Activity code:** K23 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** AI
- **Fiscal year:** 2026
- **Award amount:** $36,687
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2025-12-01T00:00:00 → 2029-11-30T00:00:00

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11459455

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11459455, Metabolic Syndrome Outcomes Among Patients with Tuberculosis in Tanzania (3K23AI187709-02S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-17 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11459455. Licensed CC0.

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