Pulmonary Spirometry in Type 2 Diabetics in Baghdad Teaching Hospital

Abstract

Background: Diabetes mellitus is a serious progressive condition associated with multisystemic involvement with a number of chronic complications due to macrovascular and microvascular damage. Pulmonary involvement is not studied extensively and is not explained by factors that influence lung function. Objective: The aim of this article is to study the effects of type 2 diabetes on lung function and delineate the association between lung function impairment and duration of the disease. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Baghdad Teaching Hospital. Ninety-one (91) type 2 diabetics with 56 control subjects were included in this study between March 2020 and June 2021. Both groups are matched by age, sex, height, and weight and are met with exclusion criteria. Spirometry was done on an electronic spirometer (videography U.K. 1982) for both groups with the following parameters: forced vital capacity (FVC), force expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), FEV1/FVC, and peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR). Statistical methods compared the results. Results: Type 2 diabetic patients show a significant reduction in FVC, FEV1, and PEFR relative to their matched controls (P < 0.05). However, there was no significant change in the FEV1/FVC ratio between the groups, meaning a restrictive pattern in diabetic patients. Conclusion: This study showed that type 2 diabetics had impaired lung function as evidenced by reduced FVC, FEV1, and PEFR as part of chronic complications of diabetes and showed a progressive decline in parameter with increased duration of the disease.