Alana T Brennan

About

Alana Brennan, PhD, MPH, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Global Health at the Boston University School of Public Health. She received both her MPH and PhD in Epidemiology from the Boston University School of Public Health. Her areas of expertise include HIV, tuberculosis, non-communicable chronic disease, and health systems research. Brennan's research focuses on these health issues, contributing to the understanding and improvement of health outcomes related to infectious diseases and health system performance.

Research topics

• Internal medicine
• Pediatrics
• Medicine
• Environmental health
• Virology
• Physical therapy

Selected publications

• Change in body weight and risk of hypertension after switching from efavirenz to dolutegravir in adults living with HIV: evidence from routine care in Johannesburg, South Africa

  EClinicalMedicine · 2023 · 97 citations

  1st authorCorresponding

  Background: The integrase strand transfer inhibitor (INSTI) dolutegravir is recommended in World Health Organization guidelines, but is associated with weight gain. We evaluated weight change in patients switching from efavirenz to dolutegravir in first-line antiretroviral therapy (ART) in Johannesburg, South Africa. Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study of adults (≥16 years) of black African ancestry with HIV who initiated ART between January 2010-December 2020. Patients were propens…

  DOI

• A clinical algorithm for same-day HIV treatment initiation in settings with high TB symptom prevalence in South Africa: The SLATE II individually randomized clinical trial

  PLoS Medicine · 2020 · 45 citations

  BACKGROUND: Many countries encourage same-day initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART), but evidence on eligibility for same-day initiation, how best to implement it, and its impact on outcomes remains scarce. Building on the Simplified Algorithm for Treatment Eligibility (SLATE) I trial, in which nearly half of participants were ineligible for same-day initiation mainly because of TB symptoms, the study evaluated the revised SLATE II algorithm, which allowed same-day initiation for patients w…

  DOI

• Gaps in the type 2 diabetes care cascade: a national perspective using South Africa’s National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) database

  BMC Health Services Research · 2023-12-21 · 10 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  BACKGROUND: Research out of South Africa estimates the total unmet need for care for those with type 2 diabetes mellitus (diabetes) at 80%. We evaluated the care cascade using South Africa's National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) database and assessed if HIV infection impacts progression through its stages. METHODS: The cohort includes patients from government facilities with their first glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) or plasma glucose (fasting (FPG); random (RPG)) measured between January 2…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Prevalence and progression of chronic kidney disease among adults undergoing creatinine testing in South African public healthcare facilities: a study leveraging data from South Africa’s National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS)

  BMJ Public Health · 2024-07-01 · 7 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Background Chronic kidney disease (CKD) has emerged as a substantial global health challenge, with a marked rise in associated mortality. However, it often goes undetected until advanced stages, particularly in low-income and middle-income countries such as South Africa. We investigated the prevalence and progression of CKD in South Africa, utilising a subset of data from the National Health Laboratory Services Multi-morbidity Cohort. Methods This study was a retrospective analysis of adults age…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Blood pressure increases are associated with weight gain and not antiretroviral regimen or kidney function: a secondary analysis from the ADVANCE trial in South Africa

  Journal of the International AIDS Society · 2024-07-01 · 4 citations

  articleOpen access

  INTRODUCTION: Recent evidence has raised questions about whether newer HIV treatment regimens, including dolutegravir (DTG) and tenofovir alafenamide (TAF), are associated with increases in blood pressure (BP). METHODS: We assessed changes in BP by treatment regimen and evaluated the relative contribution of kidney function and weight gain to these changes among participants in the ADVANCE phase-3 trial clinical trial in South Africa (study dates: January 2017-February 2022). Our primary outcome…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Matthew P. Fox

  University of the Witwatersrand

  307 shared

• Sydney Rosen

  Boston University

  192 shared

• Ian Sanne

  Advanced Biological Laboratories (Luxembourg)

  165 shared

• Lawrence Long

  Boston University

  95 shared

• Mhairi Maskew

  University of the Witwatersrand

  82 shared

• George Davey Smith

  63 shared

• Jacob Bor

  University of the Witwatersrand

  49 shared

• Gesine Meyer‐Rath

  Boston University

  39 shared

Labs

• Admissions TeamPI

Education

• PhD, Department of Epidemiology

  Boston University School of Public Health

  2016

• MPH, Department of Epidemiology

  Boston University School of Public Health

  2008

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