PULMONARY FUNCTION TEST IN TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS IN MANGALORE INDIAN POPULATION: A CASE CONTROL STUDY

Background: The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) has estimated the total number of diabetic subjects to rise to 69.9 million by the year 2025, in India. Reduced lung function is associated with insulin resistance and diabetes. There is geographical variation in pulmonary function of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.Objective: To study, the influence of type 2 diabetes mellitus and the duration of its presence onpulmonary function.Methods: A total of 40 subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus and 40 normal healthy individuals were recruited for the study. All the participants were evaluated for pulmonary function test with simple spirometric tests (FVC, FEV1, & FEV1/FVC) and a single breath carbon monoxide diffusion test (DLCO) according to ATS/ERS guidelines.Results: The mean age for type 2 diabetes mellitus subjects and normal healthy individuals were 57.68 ± 8.51 and 57.43 ± 7.74 years, respectively. Pulmonary function test (FVC, FEV1, FEV1/FVC&DLCO) values were significantly lower in type 2 diabetes subjects when compared tonormal healthy individuals( p<0.05).When pulmonary function test was compared across various durations of diabetes mellitus no significant difference was found (p <0.05).Conclusion:This study demonstrated that pulmonary function is significantly decreased in type 2 diabetes mellitus.There is a need for periodically assessing the pulmonary function in this population and this would be of immense use in prevention of respiratory impairments, and would aid the initiation of early rehabilitative interventions