Serine Sahakyan (MPH ‘15) Publishes in the International Journal of Public Health

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Serine Sahakyan (MPH ‘15), research associate at the Avedisian Onanian Center for Health Services Research and Development (CHSR) of the American University of Armenia (AUA) published an article in the June issue of the International Journal of Public Health, an internationally ranked peer-reviewed academic journal. The article stems from Sahakyan’s MPH thesis project and is titled “Diabetes Mellitus and Treatment Outcomes of Pulmonary Tuberculosis: A Cohort Study.” The co-authors are AUA Turpanjian School of Public Health (SPH) faculty members Varduhi Petrosyan, MS, PhD, and Lusine Abrahamyan, MD, PhD.

This is a cohort study that investigates the association of diabetes and tuberculosis (TB) treatment outcomes among adult patients with pulmonary TB registered in outpatient TB centers, in Yerevan, Armenia. The study has found that diabetes comorbidity had a negative effect on TB treatment outcomes. TB patients with diabetes are more likely to fail their TB treatment, compared to TB patients without diabetes. The study findings help to better understand the reasons for unsuccessful TB treatment outcome among pulmonary TB patients in Armenia, and could be used to develop more tailored approaches by strengthening providers’ knowledge of treatment of TB in patients with comorbid conditions, including diabetes. In addition, the study shows that countries that carry a high burden of both diabetes and TB should pay more attention to such comorbid conditions. As diabetes is estimated to be increasing rapidly and spreading in low- and middle-income countries, it is very likely that diabetes will soon surpass HIV as the foremost risk factor of TB.

The AUA Turpanjian School of Public Health works actively to improve population health and health services in Armenia and the region through interdisciplinary education and development of public health professionals to be leaders in public health, health services research and evaluation, and health care delivery and management.