Pulmonary function in patients with type 2 diabetes worse than health population

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is known to cause hyperglycemia and can lead to various complications in different physiological systems such as the excretory, ocular, central nervous, and cardiovascular systems. However, the respiratory system has not received much attention as a possible target for the harmful effects of hyperglycemia.

A new study evaluating pulmonary functions in patients with type 2 DM (T2DM) found that parameters were consistently lower in these patients compared with healthy controls, leading researchers to suggest that reduction in lung function may be a chronic complication of T2DM.

Compared to age and sex-matched non-diabetic individuals, patients with T2DM showed significantly lower values of forced mid-expiratory flow; forced expiratory volume in 1 second; forced expiratory flow between 25% and 75%; and maximal voluntary ventilation.

Reference
Mittal S, Jindal M, Srivastava S, et a Evaluation of Pulmonary Functions in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Cross-Sectional Study. Cureus. 2023;15(3):e35628. doi: 10.7759/cureus.35628. PMID: 37009379; PMCID: PMC10064250.